Chapter 73: Surging Waves

If she could truly provide clues, it would indeed be a great merit for the Chief. But the matter was too incredible, and Guo Xi’er couldn’t help but feel a little suspicious. She remembered the Elder who taught her security class warning them to be wary of natives using such excuses to get close to the Chief, seeking an opportunity to assassinate him.

As if seeing through Guo Xi’er’s thoughts, Miss Dong said, “Do not be afraid, miss. I am not one to risk her life to be an assassin. If I were willing to die, I would have hanged myself long ago. Since I was not willing to die then, I will not die now. If you are still not at ease, you can have a few capable maids search me carefully.”

This woman has a glib tongue, Guo Xi’er thought. She doesn’t seem like an ordinary official’s daughter. She said, “Miss Dong, the Chief is busy talking to someone. I will report it when he is free.”

The young girl curtsied again. “Thank you, miss… you have a bodhisattva’s heart… my name is Dong Mingdang. You can just call me Mingdang.”

Liu Xiang and Lu Yizhong talked for more than an hour before Lu Yizhong left, satisfied. Regardless of whether Elder Liu would accept his suggestions, his attitude towards him was still quite dependent. Under the rule of the Great Song Senate, his future would not be too bleak.

Liu Xiang was far more conflicted. The gentry and the old intellectuals were a significant problem. Though the Senate was quite lenient in its overall authorization—both he and Wen Desi had almost full authority in local administrative leadership—this did not mean he could act entirely on his own ideas. If something went wrong, it would be true that the higher you climb, the harder you fall.

After seeing off Lu Yizhong, Liu Xiang felt a little bewildered and went out for a walk. The courtyard was already a hive of activity. Soldiers of the National Army were cleaning up, clearing out piles of rubbish; staff from the Planning Institute were inventorying the “useless” furniture and furnishings, moving them to the prefectural treasury for temporary storage; sanitation personnel carried large buckets of disinfectant, while several native workers tore open packaging paper and hung white wooden signs with black characters on the doors of the rooms. Others carried in office desks, chairs, and bunk beds. The once solemn and almost suffocating prefectural yamen was now bustling with vitality and life.

The man in charge of this busy scene was Wang Sangou, head of the general affairs section of the municipal office. He wore a new blue native uniform. He was already in his early sixties, a long life for the 17th century. After immigrating from Baitu Village, he had changed his name from “dog” to “gou” and was assigned to the general office to do miscellaneous work. Born a slave, with a bitter past, he had been a bachelor all his life, with no children and no worries—exactly the kind of person the general office considered reliable.

After years of single-minded and diligent work in the general office, which he considered a paradise compared to his days as a slave for the Lin family, he had no other thoughts. The general office was his home. The more he worked, the more energetic and younger he became. Though originally illiterate, he had even earned a C-level diploma. This time, the Guangdong campaign required a large number of cadres, and despite his age, Wang Sangou had been promoted to deputy section chief of the general affairs section of the Guangzhou municipal government. He was beaming with joy, shouting and waving his hands. Seeing Liu Xiang emerge, he quickly went up to him. “Chief, I’ve been waiting for you for a long time!”

Liu Xiang was stunned. “What’s the matter?”

“The unveiling of the sign!” Wang Sangou said happily. “Our Great Song Senate has recovered Guangzhou. There must be a ceremony for the unveiling!”

An unveiling ceremony? Liu Xiang thought. Before he could process it, he was surrounded by Wang Sangou and others and led to the front of the yamen’s eight-character wall. A crowd had already gathered outside the yamen gate. The soldiers of the National Army and the native cadres were all beaming with joy. Outside the cordon, the citizens of Guangzhou had gathered. The fear brought by the change of sky overnight had vanished in the peaceful takeover. Now, they were eager to see what this “long-admired” “Australian” and “bandit” looked like.

Of the living Australians in the city, everyone knew only of Dongzhu Guo, but he looked no different from the wealthy merchants of the Ming. When Guangzhou was besieged, the bold had slipped onto the city wall to look at the “Great Song Navy” below. They had seen only soldiers in gray and blue, but not a single “real Australian.”

Seeing a man surrounded by people coming out of the main gate, they assumed he must be a real one. He was only in his thirties, with a dark complexion and a lean body. He wore a thick, short jacket with a front opening, the style no different from the “false Australians” around him, but the material was a little stiffer. The crowd couldn’t help but be disappointed—the clothing of the Great Song was really shabby.

How could Liu Xiang know the thoughts of the onlookers? Wang Sangou wanted him to say a few words, but Liu Xiang was unprepared. Someone dragged over a packing box, and he stood on it, scanned the crowd, and said loudly, “Comrades, all citizens of Guangzhou! Today is the day of the establishment of the Guangzhou Special City Military Control Commission of our Senate. From this day on, Guangzhou, this famous city of a thousand years, has returned to the hands of our Great Song and our Senate! We will work together to rebuild a prosperous, sanitary, and civilized new Guangzhou here, and use this as a starting point to rebuild the divine land!”

As his voice fell, Wang Sangou lit a string of ten-thousand-character firecrackers. Amidst the crackling, two natives hung a wooden sign with white background and black characters—”Guangzhou Special City Municipal Government”—on the main gate. The native people and the soldiers of the National Army clapped their hands, especially those from Lingao, who were even more excited. Wang Sangou was so happy he was at a loss for words. He remembered his life of wandering, a lonely man without a wife or children. Only in his old age had he been taken in by the Senate, and only then had he experienced what it was to be human. At this moment, seeing the elder standing before the Guangzhou prefectural yamen, hanging up the sign, he was so moved that tears streamed down his face. He raised his arms and shouted, “Long live the Senate!”

Following his shout, the native people and soldiers all shouted in unison, “Long live the Senate!” Countless rifles with fixed bayonets were raised high like a forest.

The shouts of “long live” were like a tide, spreading from the city center in waves, beating against the entire city.

In a residence in the city, the tsunami-like slogans could be faintly heard. Several men who were feasting stopped their wine cups and listened intently. The courtyard was silent, as quiet as death.

The cheers and slogans faded into the air after a long time. A young man in his thirties sighed. “I didn’t expect it to be today! Not all the iron in the nine prefectures could cast this mistake!”

His voice was filled with pain. The people next to him couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness.

Another person tried to console him. “Young Master Liang, you don’t have to blame yourself. The bandits’ success today is the fault of everyone from the high officials in the court to the officials in Guangdong…”

The man who had spoken of “the iron of the nine prefectures” was Liang Cunhou. This young juren from a gentry family had no intention of seeking fame and fortune. He stayed at home all year round under the pretext of caring for his parents, living a low-key and secretly luxurious life.

“That’s what you say,” Liang Cunhou said, “but when the bandits first came to Guangzhou, I was bewitched by them and even became their accomplice! Otherwise, how could they have gained a firm foothold in Guangzhou! And how could they have recruited so many refugees and gathered them into an army!”

The one persuading him was Lin Zunxiu. “Young Master Liang,” he said, “the bandits had the old thief Gao Ju to guide them, and Gao Ju had Eunuch Yang as his backer. Even if you had seen through their true colors, what use would it have been? There are many in this world who forget righteousness for profit!”

Liang Cunhou fell silent, drinking the wine in his cup. It did not taste like the Hundred Flowers Spring of Yangcheng, but like a cup of bitter wine.

At this time, Huang Bingkun, who was also present, couldn’t help but say, “The bandits are not only masters of deceiving the world and gaining fame, but they are also used to confusing people’s hearts and playing with the common folk. I fear it won’t be long before this city of Guangzhou, like Lingao, will no longer be the king’s land of the Great Ming!”

“The bandits have only entered Guangzhou,” Liang Cunhou said. “I don’t know about the other prefectures and counties…”

Lin Zunxiu shook his head. “How many troops can the prefectures and counties have? The bandits entered the city from the Great East Gate, and the guerrilla training camp outside the city didn’t react at all. I think… I think…”

Everyone understood what he left unsaid. Yesterday, not a single cannon shot or a single shout of killing had been heard in all of Guangzhou. When they woke up, the flag on the city wall had already changed. Needless to say, the government troops had already surrendered.

“There is not a single man among them!” Liang Cunhou shook his head painfully.

“The bandits have been operating in Guangzhou for a long time. This Grand World was built outside the Great East Gate, less than a quarter of an hour’s journey from Dongguanxiang! The prestige of their previous invasion of the provincial river still lingers. The government troops are afraid of the bandits’ ships and cannons like tigers,” Lin Zunxiu said. “Even if the government troops dared to fight, how many rounds could they last?”

Liang Cunhou fell into silence again. He realized Lin Zunxiu was right. The fighting spirit of the government troops would not have changed the outcome. In fact, from the battle of the provincial river, it was clear that Guangzhou was just a ripe fruit, and the bandits could pluck it whenever they wished.

“I wonder if Governor Xiong has noticed anything,” Huang Bingkun said. “We should try to inform him to make preparations early.”

“Governor Xiong is a man who likes to pacify above all else. It will be difficult to persuade him to prepare for war, I think,” Liang Cunhou said with some worry.

“Zhaoqing is a key point of the two provinces, its terrain is dangerous, and it has the advantage of the Little Three Gorges. If we can make preparations early, the bandits may not be able to attack it. If Zhaoqing is not lost, then the west of Guangdong can be preserved, and there will be room to salvage the situation in the future,” Lin Zunxiu said eloquently. “There are also the troops of the Nan’ao deputy commander in the east of Guangdong. When the troops are strong and the provisions are sufficient, we can attack the bandits from both east and west.”

“I am not talented, but I am willing to go to Zhaoqing to warn Governor Xiong!” Huang Bingkun said decisively.

It was meaningless for him to stay here. If he wanted to continue to live in humiliation under the rule of the bandits, he could have stayed in Lingao. Why had he come here!