Chapter 470: The Staff Trip

Upon receiving his mission, Lin Ming knew that the Australians had great use for him. This was the time to show his loyalty. Although his heart was full of conflict, he understood the general trend of things. He knew that this opportunity to follow a new dragon came only once, and only by seizing it could he secure long-term wealth and status for his descendants. He roused his spirits, first going to the centurion’s office. The centurion in charge was old and muddle-headed, had long since stopped asking about anything, and only cared about taking money. In this small centurion’s office, Lin Ming was the one who called the shots.

Lin Ming first prepared an official document. In the name of the centurion’s office, he sent a dispatch to the county yamen, garrisons, and other places along the West and North Rivers, stating that his office was handling a “major investigation” and requesting the cooperation of the various counties. In fact, his Foshan centurion’s office had no connection with the various counties along the way, not even at the same level—if he were an ordinary centurion, he would be a petty official no better than a common soldier. But the prestige of the Jinyiwei was still there, and most yamen would give him some face. Free food, lodging, and requisitioning laborers along the way would not be a problem.

After everything was arranged, he went home to settle his family affairs. He said he would be on a business trip for a few months. Although his wife and concubines were very reluctant to see him go, they couldn’t stop him since it was official business. It was just another round of nagging. Lin Ming, wanting to curry favor with his new superiors, had his wife and concubines prepare various “road dishes,” saying they were to “show filial respect to his superiors.”

After waiting for a few days, the instructor once again invited him to “drink flower wine.” On the flower boat, he met the “guests from the center.”

There were three visitors in total. The leader was less than thirty years old, handsome and tall. Next to him was a man in his thirties with a full beard, sturdily built and powerful. The last one was a young man in his twenties, with dark skin, looking sharp and capable.

Although they had different appearances, all three had the same lean and strong physique, and they all looked full of vigor—what a clever man Lin Ming was. He had met many “Australian chiefs” in Lingao, and one look at the temperament and expression of these three men told him that they were most likely the so-called Senators.

Three Senators had come at once. The importance of this mission was self-evident. He quickly took a step forward, bowed deeply, and announced in a clear voice, “This humble subordinate, Lin Ming, pays his respects to the three masters.”

“No need to be so polite,” the man in the lead said. “My surname is Suo. You can just call me Mr. Suo in public.”

“Yes, I understand.”

The Senator surnamed Suo introduced them one by one, “This is Master Kang, and this is Mr. Xie.”

Lin Ming did not dare to be negligent. No matter how much Chief Suo said “don’t be so polite,” he still insisted on bowing to each of them. After the greetings were over, everyone sat down. Lin Ming still only sat on half of his buttocks, with a respectful demeanor, ready to take orders at any time.

Suo Pu looked at this centurion’s demeanor and secretly felt contempt. It seemed this man was deeply ingrained with the habits of officialdom. But the other party was a newly surrendered person, not a naturalized citizen, so he couldn’t ask for too much.

He opened his mouth and asked, “Comrade Lin Ming—”

Lin Ming immediately stood up, “Sir, please give your instructions—”

Suo Pu waved his hand in dissatisfaction, “Comrade Lin Ming! You can put away this old habit of the great Ming officialdom. We are all officials serving the Senate and the people. We don’t go in for these empty and false courtesies!”

“Yes, yes, I understand!”

“Sit down and talk.” Suo Pu already had a low opinion of the old officials, and Centurion Lin’s demeanor made him even more disgusted.

Lin Ming felt rebuffed. Knowing that the Australians didn’t go in for this, he quickly sat down.

“Because the center says you are very familiar with the situation in Guangdong, this mission requires you to act as a guide and lead us deep into various places along the West and North Rivers,” Suo Pu chose his words carefully. “Do you have any difficulties? State them now, so we can discuss countermeasures. Don’t wait until the last minute to say this won’t work and that won’t work.”

“I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare. It is my honor to lead the way for you,” Lin Ming said with a fawning smile. “There are some difficulties, but they are not a problem. I can overcome them all.”

“Good, then we will have to rely on you for everything.” Seeing his straightforward answer, without any pretense of difficulty to set conditions, Suo Pu’s impression of him improved slightly. “As for how to go, you will have to come up with a plan.”

“I have already thought about it.” Lin Ming, wanting to curry favor and show off in front of his new superiors, had already gone over the matter in detail. “I wonder which route the several masters plan to take first?”

Suo Pu and the others had already discussed it beforehand: among the three rivers of Guangdong, the West River had the best navigation conditions. Through the West River, they could not only control and influence the mountainous areas of western Guangdong but also directly penetrate the most prosperous areas of Guangxi. The yamen of the Governor-General of Liangguang was located in Zhaoqing Prefecture, through which the West River flowed. There were Ming troops stationed there, making it a key point for military operations and necessitating prior reconnaissance. So they decided to take the West River first, and then the North River.

“We plan to take the West River first,” Suo Pu said. “Upstream, all the way to Wuzhou.”

Lin Ming’s heart skipped a beat. Once out of Sanshui, the West River led to Zhaoqing Prefecture, the seat of the Governor-General of Liangguang! There were still several battalions of troops stationed there. For this group of Australians to take the West River first, their purpose was self-evident.

“Taking the West River is easy. The river is deep and wide. We just need to prepare a large boat in advance—it will be spacious and comfortable on board, and convenient if you want to bring female companions…” He said this while secretly observing the reaction of the several Australians with the corner of his eye.

He had been in Lingao for a long time and knew that the Senators valued their female servants most, spending huge sums on them. He thought they were all lechers and deliberately catered to this.

“This is official business. Why would we bring female companions?” Suo Pu frowned.

“Yes, yes.” Seeing that his speculation was completely off, Lin Ming stopped trying to be clever and explained his plan of using his Jinyiwei official document to travel under the pretext of investigating a case.

“…Using the name of the Jinyiwei, not only is it convenient to pass through checkpoints, but we can also request support from the county yamen along the way. It will be convenient for whatever we do. What do the several gentlemen think?”

Suo Pu nodded. This idea was not bad. Although he felt it was a bit fanciful: the staff trip for the Guangdong campaign organized by the General Staff was actually going to be carried out under the banner of the great Ming, using the resources of the great Ming. It was truly intriguing.

“Alright, we’ll follow your plan.”

“Good, then I will go and prepare the boats…”

“You don’t have to worry about the boats,” Suo Pu said. “I have already prepared them.”

Before they set off, the Qiwei Escort Agency had already received orders to prepare boats and reliable sailors, as well as several escorts. The waters of Guangdong in the Ming dynasty were not a peaceful place. Not only were there water bandits everywhere, but even ordinary boatmen and fishermen would not hesitate to kill and rob if they had the chance.

Although they had Lin Ming’s official cover, it was hard to say whether the various heroes of the water would respect it.

“Our first stop is Sanshui County,” Suo Pu said.

From Foshan to Sanshui was just over thirty kilometers. In the 21st century, Sanshui was a district of Foshan, but in the Ming dynasty, Sanshui was a county under Guangzhou Prefecture. It did not have a long history, having been carved out from Nanhai and Gaoyao counties during the Jiajing reign. Its county seat, Hekou Town, was located in the northwest corner of the Pearl River Delta, at the confluence of the West, North, and Sui Rivers, hence the name Sanshui (Three Waters). This place was the gateway from Guangzhou to western Guangdong and Guangxi. Especially since western and northern Guangdong were mountainous with inconvenient transportation, the transshipment of goods and personnel mostly relied on the boat transport of the West and North Rivers. Its geographical advantage was very obvious. Therefore, it was opened as a treaty port in 1895, and a customs house was established accordingly. The British who worked at the customs at the time wrote in their report: “The vast North River basin is practically undeveloped. The mineral products of these places are extremely rich and can be easily transported to Sanshui for transshipment or manufacturing. The geographical location of Sanshui is similar to that of Guangzhou, and it is very convenient to travel to and from Hong Kong. It seems to have been designated to become a great commercial port and a natural distribution center for goods between the two great rivers.”

Its unique transportation and geographical environment not only made it the most prosperous water transport wharf in the province but also prompted the construction of the first railway in Guangdong: the Guangzhou-Sanshui Railway.

It was for this reason that Suo Pu suggested at the General Staff meeting that this place be established as the main depot for the Guangdong campaign. Supplies, ammunition, wounded soldiers, reinforcements, and spoils of war would all be collected and transshipped here. And in the future, when the Senate carried out large-scale economic construction in Guangdong, this place would become a material transshipment center.

Suo Pu’s purpose for this trip was to conduct a staff trip before the start of the Guangdong campaign. With him was a Senator from the General Staff, Cummins, and another young man who was not a Senator but his favorite student, Xie Peng. This young man had already been designated by the General Staff as a key staff officer to be trained. This time, he was here specifically for an internship.

The reason for asking Lin Ming to lead the way was also due to the complexity of the social and public sentiment along the West and North Rivers. Although the Jinyiwei was “official,” they were responsible for investigation and had more contact with the lower strata of society, and were familiar with the social situation. Compared to the escort agency, their status made everyone a little more wary, and they would give them some face at critical moments.

“Is this Lin Ming reliable?” Cummins couldn’t help but ask after Lin Ming had left.

“The center says he can be trusted.” Although Suo Pu felt he was not very reliable and was deeply ingrained with old habits, he did not find him cunning after talking with him. “We should just trust the center’s judgment.”

The instructor from the intelligence network smiled and said, “Don’t worry, sirs. He has a large family in Foshan Town—four concubines alone. He’d have to think twice about his own family before trying anything funny.”

“Four concubines? He’s quite capable,” Cummins said casually.

“This Centurion Lin is famous for keeping beautiful concubines. But that’s not surprising,” the instructor said. “The key is that while other families have discord between wives and concubines, with frequent quarrels, his family is the most harmonious. Outsiders all say that Lin Furen is virtuous.”

“Virtuous? Heh heh,” Suo Pu smiled. “Let’s not talk about his family affairs. When will the Qiwei boats be ready?”

“The boat has already arrived and is waiting in the outer river,” the instructor said. “The escort agency has sent six good men, all on board. The boatmen were also selected by the escort agency. They are familiar with the route and are reliable people.”