Chapter 79: Chengxuan Avenue

The institutional setup had been established before entering the city, and the main cadres had also been selected. After Liu Xiang assigned the received native personnel, the institutional construction was roughly completed.

The front was bustling with registration and hair shaving. Liu Xiang couldn’t manage all this and hurriedly came down and entered the office—Lin Baiguang was already waiting for him.

“The army is about to enter the city. This matter is a bit rushed. It’s all up to you,” Liu Xiang said without any pleasantries, getting straight to the point.

The 4th Battalion and the National Army, which were responsible for the occupation of Guangzhou Prefecture, had entered the city on the day it was opened. Now, the main force of the South China Army participating in the Guangdong campaign was about to enter the city. From a purely military point of view, it was not necessary for these troops to enter the city, but the elders all thought it was very necessary to take this opportunity to publicize “our military might,” let the natives fully appreciate the military prestige of the Fubo Army, and fully deter the rebellious elements. So it was decided that the army would pass through the city in full armor.

“This is really not easy to handle,” Lin Baiguang spread out the Guangzhou map he had brought. This map was the painstaking work of the Urban Work Department over the past few years. However, the Urban Work Department was after all only a secret organization, and it had no right to send surveying and mapping personnel into various buildings to conduct on-site surveying and mapping in a grand manner. Therefore, the details were not very meticulous. It roughly drew the main street network and building complexes in Guangzhou in proportion.

“Although it’s not a military parade, it’s actually the same as a military parade,” Lin Baiguang said. “As far as I know, the most suitable route is to enter the city from the Great South Gate, walk along Chengxuan Avenue all the way north, pass through Shuangmendi, and finally exit from the Great North Gate or the Small North Gate—just traversing the whole city.”

Chengxuan Avenue is the Beijing Road of modern times. Throughout the dynasties, Beijing Road has always been the north-south central axis of Guangzhou, and its transportation status is very important. There are a large number of government offices, academies, and temples on both sides of the street, and it is also an important commercial area. An armed parade here can achieve the best effect.

“…The key is that this street is wide enough, and it’s a stone-paved road,” Lin Baiguang pointed at the map. “You must have seen the streets of Guangzhou.”

Liu Xiang nodded, “Narrow, uneven road surface, and mostly a mixture of mud and stone.”

“A mixture of mud and stone is already pretty good. Most of them are dirt roads with no stones at all,” Lin Baiguang said. “But the difficulty is not here.”

“Where is it then?” Liu Xiang was a little confused.

“It’s not clear here. We’d better go and see it directly,” Lin Baiguang smiled slightly. “I think you still have to work on the spot more to appreciate the difficulty of managing a big city.”

“I accept this suggestion,” Liu Xiang nodded. “There is another matter. I wonder if you can temporarily serve as the director of the Guangzhou Municipal Police Department?”

“This is not appropriate. The national police and our civil affairs department are two different systems. Besides, Ran Yao still has people in his pocket. He hasn’t nominated anyone yet, probably to balance the internal affairs—let’s wait until the official appointment comes.”

“You can take it on for now. I’ll issue you an appointment letter later. It’s not too late to hand it over when the official director comes. There are many things to be done in police affairs, and the sooner the better. Besides, you are the director of the comprehensive governance office. How can you get things done without a gun?” Liu Xiang shook his head. “Although I am the director of the Military Control Commission and I am in charge of both the military and the people, and I have command over both the army and the police, you have a lot of trivial matters. You can’t always come to me to report and apply…”

“Isn’t there the detective team you recruited?” Lin Baiguang smiled. “These people are very useful.”

Liu Xiang and Lin Baiguang left the municipal government. They did not call for a car or take a sedan chair. They brought more than a dozen guards with them. Lin Baiguang also called for a clerk from the housing office and a few copyists and detectives to go to Chengxuan Avenue together.

Chengxuan Avenue was not far from the prefectural yamen—historically, this had always been the political and cultural center of Guangzhou. There were many government offices, academies, and temples here, so the surrounding houses and streets were still neat and impressive. It was just that most of the streets and alleys were winding and tortuous, and the paths were narrow and not straight. The road surface was even more muddy—the drainage facilities here were almost non-existent. Not to mention the overflowing domestic sewage, the accumulated water after a rain would take a long time to dry. Liu Xiang thought to himself that it was fortunate that he had listened to Lin Baiguang’s reminder when he came out and put on long oilcloth boots, otherwise it would have been difficult to even walk on the road.

“This place is still considered good. Because it’s close to the government offices and the main commercial area, the residents are relatively wealthy, and the road surface is still a mixture of mud and stone. If you really go to the poor streets and alleys, the sludge will never be dry.”

“I originally thought that Guangzhou would be better than Lingao and Qiongshan. It seems that it’s about the same,” Liu Xiang said with a bitter smile. “With this sanitary condition, it would be strange if there were no infectious diseases in the summer.”

“In ancient society, there was no concept of urban construction planning and management.”

As they walked, there were gates at every alley entrance. The styles of the street gates were varied. Some were proper gatehouses, while others were just a wall across the street with a gate hole and a fence door. The simplest ones were just bamboo barricades that were used to block the alley entrance at night and moved to the side during the day.

“The street gates are an important element of Guangzhou’s public security. After dark, the street gates are locked, which greatly limits criminal activities at night. In an era without streetlights, this was the most effective means of urban public security management.”

“It’s equivalent to the curfew we have now.”

“That’s the meaning. In fact, night travel was also prohibited here before. There were yamen runners patrolling the streets every night, and they would question anyone they saw traveling at night. If he thought you were suspicious, you would be reprimanded by the registrar, beaten twenty times, and have to stay in the yamen for a night. The next day, you would be released on bail. Of course, if you were a gentry or had some money to bribe in time, you wouldn’t have to suffer this physical pain.”

“Damn corrupt,” Liu Xiang said.

“Corrupt is corrupt, but it still has its uses,” Lin Baiguang said. “They are very familiar with the criminal gangs and beggar gangs in the city. If you want to do a good job in public security, you have to rely on them—at least for now.”

Liu Xiang saw that next to each street gate there was a small gray brick house of similar appearance. Although most of them were dilapidated, with incomplete doors and windows, they used the gray barrel tiles that were only used in official buildings. He couldn’t help but feel curious. Just as he was about to walk over to have a look, a copyist next to him said, “Sir, this is the official house where the street watcher lives. It’s very dirty inside…”

It was indeed very dirty. Not to mention the urine stains on the walls, there were also several urine buckets placed against the wall, emitting a strong stench. There was also a large notice posted on the wall above the urine buckets, which was the “Letter to the Citizens of Guangzhou” that he had instructed the Comprehensive Governance Office to post throughout the city yesterday.

He didn’t expect it to be posted here. Liu Xiang smiled bitterly, but the people who came here to urinate would definitely see it.

“The street watcher?”

“Yes, sir.”

Seeing his confusion, Lin Baiguang explained that the so-called street watcher was the person responsible for opening and closing the street gates and beating the watch at night. They were generally beggars. If there was an unclaimed body on the road, they were also responsible for moving it.

“Public security relies on beggars. It’s really ridiculous,” Liu Xiang shook his head. He already understood that these houses were actually the “police boxes” of modern society. Although there might not be police in the police boxes of the 21st century, at least there were security guards. Here, they actually used a beggar.

“How much money do you give him a month?”

“How much to give is a matter for the street. The yamen doesn’t care,” the clerk said cautiously.

Liu Xiang was almost brought to tears by this strange urban management thinking. A detective thought that Liu Xiang wanted to see the watchman, so he walked to the door, kicked open the reed curtain that served as a door, and shouted, “Come out! The prefect wants to see you!”

A man in a patched uniform came out from inside and knelt down in front of a flustered Liu Xiang, “I kowtow to you, sir.”

Liu Xiang saw that his appearance was still clean, but his clothes were patched over patches. He said, “Get up and speak.”

“Yes, sir.”

Liu Xiang asked, “You beat the watch here. How much money and rice does the street give you a month?”

The watchman didn’t dare to raise his head and said with his head bowed, “Reporting to you, sir, there is no money or rice.”

Liu Xiang said, “Without money and rice, how do you make a living?”

“I rely on the neighbors to take care of me and give me some leftover rice and porridge. I can still get by.”

Liu Xiang suddenly turned his head and asked the clerk, “Doesn’t the street give the watchman money and rice?”

The clerk’s name was Jia Jue. Because he was usually considered to have a “conscience,” he did not extort or cheat the common people, and he would never make things difficult for them when he took money to do things. He was a clerk with a good reputation, so he was not purged this time. When he heard Liu Xiang’s question, he did not dare to be slow and said, “Actually, there is…”

“Who embezzled it?”

“The money and grain are all handed over to the big bones in various places,” Jia Jue said. The “big bones” he was talking about were the beggar chiefs.

Liu Xiang nodded. He thought to himself, how could I have forgotten about this? Beggars also have gangs. However, the watchman was an important public security force in ancient cities. Their beating the watch at night was not only to tell the time, but also to scare and interfere with criminals. They could be organized and used now.

The group of people walked onto Chengxuan Avenue. This street was indeed “big,” with a width of more than 9 meters by visual inspection. It was a rare wide street in Guangzhou. The most crucial thing was that the road surface was all paved with green stone slabs—although the stone slabs were broken and missing to varying degrees, and there was accumulated water in many places.

“The road surface is about 9 meters wide on average. Our people have measured it,” Lin Baiguang said.

“This width is at the level of a two-lane road, right? A proper military parade is not possible, but a six-column march is not a problem. Cannon carts and baggage carts can also run on it.”

“Hehe, that’s why I wanted to ask you to come and see. It’s not what you think,” Lin Baiguang smiled. “Materials are often unreliable.”

Chengxuan Avenue was a very bustling and prosperous main road and commercial street in Guangzhou, with many shops on both sides. Although because the city had just changed hands, many shops were worried about safety and did not open, and most of the vendors did not set up their stalls, there were still many businesses in operation on the street. The appearance of their group immediately caused a commotion. People knew from their attire that they must be high-ranking officials of the Australians. Some who were well-informed already knew that this was the “Australian prefect.” They all rushed to the sides of the street. The shop assistants who were shouting enthusiastically also fell silent. The originally lively street suddenly became deserted.