Chapter 64: Huang Erye, Sojourning in Guangzhou

As he was in a state of fear, the sound of neat running footsteps came faintly from the morning light. He immediately widened his eyes. In a short while, a team of Australian soldiers ran neatly from the street. Although there were only about thirty of them, the momentum of them running in unison with their muskets with shining bayonets made his heart tremble. He couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief in his heart: they’re finally here!

He immediately instructed, “Quick! Open the inner yuecheng gate and welcome the army to take over!”

The various troops entering Guangzhou from the east of the city did not encounter any organized resistance. There were only sporadic battles in a few places. Most of them were suppressed by the local “collaborators” before the Fubo Army even took action. Lin Baiguang had hinted to the “collaborators” in the city beforehand: don’t be afraid to kill people. And the collaborators themselves were eager to use blood to express their “loyalty” to their new masters. Therefore, people were killed everywhere, and in many places, there were even incidents where collaborators took the opportunity to kill people to vent their personal anger. Sometimes, the collaborators themselves also had internal strife and fought each other. In the end, the victor insisted that the dead were “undercover agents.”

The scouts of the General Investigation Bureau and the special agents of the Urban Work Department had already controlled the various city gates and the main high points in the city in advance, and had arranged for people to “lead the way” at various intersections. At 7:00 am on March 1, 1635, the 4th Infantry Battalion and the 1st Battalion of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force successfully stationed themselves at all the key points inside and outside Guangzhou city as planned: sentry posts were established at the city gates, yamen, warehouses, bell and drum towers, and wharves. Martial law was imposed on the whole city. Of the eighteen city gates, only four were opened for citizens and people from the surrounding countryside to enter and exit. The members of the “public security group” of the Urban Work Department cooperated with the Fubo Army soldiers at these four city gates to check pedestrians. The teaching battalion and the 1st and 2nd squadrons of the Guangdong Corps of the National Army from Hong Kong then entered Guangzhou. After entering the city, they immediately patrolled the streets under the leadership of the staff of the Urban Work Department to prevent people from taking advantage of the fire to loot.

Just after 7:00, the gunboat “Zhenhai” from the Hong Kong base churned up rolling waves and, accompanied by a dozen or so large boats, sailed along the Pearl River into Bai’etan. This was the first time a steam warship had gone deep into the Pearl River and come to the city of Guangzhou. Compared to the steam tugboats that the citizens of Guangzhou were already familiar with, the appearance of this “majestic” “giant ship” caused a flurry of panic among the surrounding people. The “Zhenhai” spewed black smoke as it dropped anchor in Bai’etan. The “giant cannons” with their gleaming bronze bodies turned their heavy bodies together and pointed their muzzles at Wuyang City.

The paddle wheels of Guo Yi’s yacht, the “Octopus,” which was familiar to everyone in Guangzhou, stirred the river water and, with its whistle blowing, came up from behind and slowly docked at the Tianzi Wharf on the east bank of Bai’etan.

From Tianzi Wharf to Wuyang Posthouse and Nan’guan, the road was densely lined with soldiers with loaded guns. The bayonets glinted with a cold light in the spring sun, and the morning star flag fluttered in the slightly cold river wind of early spring, creating a scene of solemnity and killing.

Beside the reception pavilion, Guo Yi, the station chief of Guangzhou, was waiting. He had already cut off the bun he had worn for many years, changed out of his long gown, shaved his beard, and returned to his former appearance.

From the first day he arrived in Guangzhou, he had imagined the day he would leave his post many times. Six years was not a short period of time in the journey of life. Now, his successor was coming.

The gangway for boarding was lowered from the “Octopus.” A bugler in a white sailor suit stood by the gangway and blew his bugle.

As soon as the bugle sounded, Liu Xiang, the new director of the Guangzhou Military Control Commission, made a grand entrance in the spotlight. As soon as he stepped onto the gangway, a “military band” trained by drummers and buglers at the wharf began to play—”We Salute You, Comrade Commander.” The march played by the noisy suona, gongs, and drums had a unique flavor.

Liu Xiang extended his hand to Guo Yi, who had already come up to meet him, and the two of them shook hands firmly. Liu Xiang had originally prepared a set of words, but at this moment he only said one sentence, “You have worked hard!”

“I will have to trouble you in the future!” Guo Yi said. Although he was the pioneer, the situation he faced was far less complicated than Liu Xiang’s. The only good thing was that Liu Xiang was now the local emperor here.

The two of them did not exchange any more pleasantries. The new Guangzhou municipal government naturally could not be located on Huifu Street. In fact, the Senate had no intention of setting up an administrative agency in the old city of Guangzhou, but intended to build a new city. The administrative center was also planned to be located there.

The temporary headquarters of the Military Control Commission was located in the Grand World. However, considering that the Military Control Commission had a lot of external liaison work, the external “window” was set up at the Wuyang Posthouse outside the Tianzi Wharf. Liu Xiang and his team would also be temporarily stationed here to facilitate the arrangement of work nearby.

This posthouse had been burned down by rockets during the Battle of the Pearl River a few years ago and was later rebuilt. At this time, the posthouse had already been taken over, cleaned up, and was waiting for the arrival of its new master.

During this period of time, Huang Erye’s mood was extremely depressed. The saying “one thinks of one’s family twice as much on festive occasions” was really not wrong at all. When he left his home in Lingao, he had also thought that he would have a home that was difficult to return to in the future. However, when the new year came, seeing his friends go home for the new year, and seeing some people on the street making new clothes and buying new year’s goods, the bitterness in Huang Erye’s heart became more and more unbearable day by day. It was not that he had not thought of disguising himself and going to Lingao to see his parents. However, he had been out for a long time against his family’s wishes and had achieved nothing. If the short-haired rebels were to find out about his words and deeds in Guangzhou, his family would be greatly implicated. Since he could not go home, he had to stay in Guangzhou as a lonely person. One or two friends had invited him to their homes for the new year, but he was an outsider after all and felt quite uncomfortable. He was also afraid that those who did not know his background would see that he was not at home and cause a scandal.

“Master Huang! Master Huang!”

A series of urgent voices came, and Huang Bingkun turned over. In a daze, he felt someone pushing him. It seemed to be his servant boy. He grunted a few times and fell back into a drowsy sleep. Because he had not yet recovered from his hangover last night, his mind was in a daze. He was still sleeping soundly in his lodging even though the sun was already high in the sky.

Huang Erye had been out for a long time, and his money was gradually running out. Fortunately, his friends had given him some financial support, so it was not a problem to buy some good wine and dishes every day during the New Year. He also had a servant boy sent by Lin Zunxiu to serve him, so his life was temporarily manageable. Before the New Year, he had already agreed with everyone that when the weather turned warm and the roads were passable, he would go north, either to Nanzhi or directly to the capital, to see if he could persuade the high officials of the court to “make plans early” against the short-haired rebels. Some people had already promised to write letters to their teachers and colleagues, asking them to take good care of Huang Erye. Lin Zunxiu and others had also promised to donate some money for his “petitioning.” Since the plan had been decided, and it was the New Year, Huang Erye had nothing to do and nowhere to go. So he sent his servant boy to get him wine and dishes every day, so that he could “drown his sorrows in wine” in his room.

“Brother Huang! Brother Huang, get up quickly!” a different voice, more urgent. He forced his sleepy eyes open and vaguely saw a man in front of him, looking at him anxiously.

He shook his head and rubbed his eyes, recognizing that it was Wu Ming from the Yuyuan Society.

“Brother Wu, what’s the matter? Why are you so flustered?”

“Something big has happened! The short-haired folk have entered the city!”

“The short-haired folk?!” Huang Erye shivered and sat up from the bed. “Is it true?”

“I saw it with my own eyes, how can it be fake! The short-haired soldiers entered the city in the middle of the night, and they occupied the whole city without a sound and without bloodshed. Now the streets are full of their soldiers.”

It took Huang Bingkun a while to understand the meaning of the other party’s words. Suddenly, he felt his hands and feet turn cold, and his body trembled uncontrollably. It was like “a punch opened the top of his head, and half a bucket of cold water was poured down.”

“Good… good… good thieves!” Huang Bingkun’s voice also trembled.

“Young Master Lin has invited us to his place to discuss a great plan. Brother Huang, you can wash up immediately, and we will go together.”

“That’s great. But, their soldiers are on the street, how can we get out?”

“The short-haired folk have not imposed a strict curfew. The streets are very quiet now. As long as you don’t leave the city, pedestrians are not questioned.”

Huang Bingkun thought for a moment. The actions of the short-haired rebels had always been outwardly relaxed but inwardly tight. The “stable and peaceful situation” on the surface always had to be maintained for a while. He nodded and said, “I’ll trouble Brother Wu to wait a little while I go wash and change.”

He hurriedly washed and changed his clothes, not even bothering to eat breakfast. He only told his servant boy, “Stay here and guard. Don’t go out.”

When he went out of the room, he saw that the monks in the temple were like ants on a hot pan, running around everywhere, but they didn’t know what to do. The guest monk saw that Huang Bingkun was going out and hurriedly said, “Patron! The situation on the street is unclear now, it’s better not to go out.”

Wu Ming said, “It’s okay, there’s no curfew outside. Otherwise, how could I have come over? The Australians have sent soldiers to patrol the streets, and the market is also very quiet. There are no rascals causing trouble.”

Seeing that they were determined to go, the monk opened a small door in a secluded alley on the side and let them out.

When they got to the street, they saw that there were few pedestrians on the street. The houses along the road were all closed, and none of the shops were open. The street was deserted. Huang Bingkun slightly regretted his rashness: walking on the street like this was too conspicuous! If he encountered a short-haired rebel patrol and was questioned, how would he answer?

However, after walking along the street for a while, he did not encounter any of their troops, and his heart calmed down a little. Wu Ming was an old hand in Guangzhou and was very familiar with the streets and alleys here. So they walked through the small alleys and secluded streets, avoiding the main roads. When they saw the figure of a short-haired rebel patrol, they would hide in the alley for a while before continuing. After walking and stopping like this, they arrived at a small alley without much effort.

Huang Bingkun saw that there were no houses in this alley, and both sides were high walls with some small doors. He knew that this was probably the backyard of a large family. He saw Wu Ming knock on one of the doors a few times. The door opened, and they quickly slipped in. The person who opened the door was a man wearing a green turban—a pimp. He couldn’t help but be surprised and asked, “What is this place?”

“Fangchun Courtyard.”