Chapter 85: A Thunderous Onslaught

“Each team should only focus on their own tasks; other matters will be handled by those specifically assigned,” Xie Buliao said. “If you encounter violent resistance, blow your whistle to call for reinforcements from the nearby National Army.”

“Begin the operation!”

At Lin Biguang’s command, a guard beside him lit a signal rocket. A green flare shot into the sky with a whistling sound.

The whistle was the signal. Whistles echoed throughout the entire street as the National Army’s riot control squads entered Chengxuan Avenue from both the north and south entrances simultaneously. The once deathly quiet street now resounded with orderly footsteps. The riot squads wore steel helmets and a local version of riot gear fashioned from kapok and rattan, with iron-soled leather boots on their feet. They carried riot shields made of rattan, standard-issue batons, and long-forked poles. Marching in unison, they passed before the common people with impassive faces, their eyes fixed forward. The clatter of their boots struck an extra note of terror into the already anxious hearts of the shopkeepers and their staff. Many began to secretly regret not having demolished their structures themselves.

The riot squads left a small team every hundred meters, setting up positions along the street. Then, on the second whistle, the detective squads, led by the Naturalized Citizen Police, entered the street. Though their uniforms were neat, their marching and formations were far inferior. The demolition teams didn’t rush to start. They also deployed one team every hundred meters, each wearing armbands of different colors and numbers.

Each team had a flag bearer holding the team’s colored flag. As each team got into position, the flag bearer would raise the flag high to signal their readiness.

The merchants, shop clerks, and curious onlookers in the shops had never witnessed such a scene. They were all terrified—was this a declaration of war?

Lin Biguang sat calmly in his chair. A guard lowered his binoculars, turned, stood at attention, and saluted, “Reporting to the Chief, all teams are in position.”

“Let’s begin.”

A red signal rocket whistled up from the Twin-Gate Tower. The detective squads, who had been rubbing their hands in anticipation, roared and lunged forward like hounds unleashed from their chains.

The shopkeepers and clerks had never seen such a formation. Seeing the wolf-like detective squads pounce, the merchants and staff who had originally planned to obstruct them in various ways scattered like birds and beasts. The timid ones simply cried out and collapsed to the ground, unable to move, and were promptly dragged aside by personnel assigned to that task.

The detective squads were eager to go, each man wanting to show off in front of the Chief. Once the order was given, they immediately set to work according to their assigned roles. In an instant, the scene erupted into chaos: people moving things, smashing walls with large hammers and hooked spears, climbing ladders to remove tiles…

As the demolition work progressed, at both ends of the street, mobile sound systems, the kind used for plaza dancing, began broadcasting a pre-recorded “Demolition Notice.”

“Citizens of Guangzhou, hello. The Guangzhou Military Control Commission and the Guangzhou Municipal Government, in accordance with…”

A monotonous, electronically synthesized female voice echoed over the street, first in standard Mandarin with perfect pronunciation, followed by a broadcast in Guangzhou’s official dialect. Accompanied by the broadcast, the detective squads’ demolition work reached its peak.

According to the pre-arranged plan, bricks, tiles, and stones were collected, while reed mats, bamboo, and timber were sorted and stacked. The “Swift Wind” and “Purple Lightning” handcarts borrowed from the General Logistics Department moved from the north to the south end of the street, collecting the dismantled building materials as they were taken down, loaded, and transported away, leaving no pile-up on the street.

The business equipment and goods from the shanties were also sealed, loaded onto carts, and transported away, along with the construction materials, all taken to the training grounds east of the city. This wasn’t because Lin Biguang coveted these items, but to impose an additional cost on the shopkeepers who had built the illegal structures.

The commerce of Guangzhou was something the Senate wanted to maintain and promote. Therefore, he couldn’t use excessively harsh punitive measures, such as sending the owners to labor camps or suspending their business operations. However, he couldn’t let the shopkeepers get away without any cost for their violations either. For most of them, the material and labor costs of building the shanties were low, while the profits were substantial. Without an effective deterrent, it would be difficult to maintain the整治 results in the long run. Seizing their goods and equipment forced them to come and pay a fine. The resulting costs in time, money, and business turnover would be enough to deter many from trying again.

Imposing fines on the spot was an option, but it would be difficult to control effectively amidst the chaos. By moving everything to the East Training Grounds outside the city, each shop would have to take the initiative to come and accept their punishment, ensuring no one was missed and no one was over-fined. This adapted to their currently low law enforcement capabilities.

Lin Biguang silently watched the street before him. The dust kicked up by the demolition work enveloped the entire street, making it look hazy. In the dusty fog, the sounds of tools striking walls, the tearing sound of reed sheds being pulled down, and the shouts and curses of the demolition workers could be heard, occasionally interspersed with the cries and curses of a woman or two.

Overall, the effect was good, Lin Biguang thought. It seemed the city’s riff-raff, especially the Guandi Temple gang, knew what was good for them. Not a single one had jumped out to be made an example of.

He knew that by tomorrow, the news of his demolition work would spread throughout the city. Every teahouse and tea stall would be vividly recounting today’s events—he had put on this show precisely to achieve this effect. He had already roughly surveyed the entire city, and it was safe to say that nearly every major thoroughfare and commercial district had illegal structures. Some were even built directly over the Six-Vein Canals. The demolition work in the city had only just begun.

The Guangzhou Municipal Government couldn’t put on such a grand display for every demolition, so the first one had to be imposing enough, the scene set perfectly. He was a little disappointed that no one had come out to cause trouble; otherwise, he could have made an example of a few, which would have served as a better warning for the subsequent demolition work.

The demolition began at seven in the morning, and by noon, the tightly packed shanties along Chengxuan Avenue had been completely swept away, revealing the original wide road surface of green bricks and red sandstone slabs. As he looked out, he felt a sense of exhilaration, as if the city could finally breathe properly again.

However, the traces of years of encroaching businesses remained, like a floor plan drawn with stains. Standing on the Twin-Gate Tower, one could still roughly see the size of the road space each shop had once occupied. A few had even built houses directly on the road, and the foundations were still being demolished, with a few solitary beams and pillars standing in the middle of the street.

The roadside ditches, originally covered by the shanties, were now fully exposed. He had instructed that the stone and wooden planks covering them not be removed for the time being—that could wait until after the city entrance ceremony.

“Such a good road, ruined to this state,” Lin Biguang said casually. “Has everything been transported away?”

“All the confiscated goods and business equipment have been moved. There’s still a small amount of building material from the unfinished demolitions,” reported the cadre in charge of the specific command.

“After the cleanup is complete, have the cleaning crews sweep the street. Make sure there is no residual garbage on the ground.” Lin Biguang picked up his binoculars. “Did anyone cause trouble?”

“No, everyone was very cooperative.”

“Tell the law enforcement team to erect the gallows in front of the Twin-Gate Tower. We finally have a place for it.”

That afternoon, a black gallows was erected in the open space in front of the Twin-Gate Tower. The noose, coated in black tar, swayed in the wind, a silent reminder of who was now the master of Guangzhou.

A new notice was posted on the bulletin board in front of the gallows, stating that all shops whose goods and business equipment had been confiscated had three days to go to the East Training Grounds to be processed for fines. After the deadline, everything would be confiscated.

“Fucking Kun bandits…” a shopkeeper cursed in his back room. If he didn’t go pay the fine, all his confiscated goods and equipment would be gone. But he was truly unwilling to part with his hard-earned silver. His heart ached with pain, regret, and hatred. His wife tried to console him, “Husband, if we spend a little money, we can get our things back. If it were the old government, not only would you not get your things back, you’d still have to spend money.”

The shopkeeper thought about it and realized it was true. Not to mention, if the old government had come to demolish, and he hadn’t paid them enough money on the spot, those black-hearted yamen runners would have probably taken the opportunity to loot his entire shop. From this perspective, the Kun bandits were actually quite polite.

Lin Biguang had no time to care about what the citizens thought. As soon as the shanties were cleared, he immediately organized teams to carry out temporary repairs on the surface of Chengxuan Avenue.

A major overhaul was impossible at the moment. The road was not only long but had also been neglected for many years, with severe damage to both the surface and the roadbed. A major repair would require removing all the sandstone slabs and green bricks, a task that would take months to complete, not to mention the uncertainty of where to source the paving materials. Therefore, the opinion of Li Xiaolü, who was in charge of Guangzhou’s municipal engineering, was to use the bricks, tiles, and stones from the demolished shanties for temporary repairs. The goal was to fill the pits and cracks on the road surface to keep it roughly flat.

Such temporary repairs didn’t require many skilled workers and could be completed quickly. Lin Biguang approved this plan. He said to Li Xiaolü:

“Complete the repair work within 36 hours.” He gave a strict order. “The entire line must be open by 7 a.m. on March 5th!” Then he turned to Jia Jue, a clerk from the public works office, and said, “From today on, you will follow the orders of Chief Li!”

Jia Jue was astonished to see that the chief was a woman. A woman who understood road repair?

Li Xiaolü and her team moved into the Twin-Gate Tower and personally directed the road repair project. The construction team was composed of county laborers summoned by Jia Jue—they were a type of government functionary. To supplement the workforce, some National Army soldiers were also mobilized.

As soon as the street was cleaned, lanterns were hung on both sides, and the road repair work began that very night. Li Xiaolü was on-site, personally directing the work.

The citizens of Guangzhou were amazed to see a “female Kun” on the street, gesturing and directing several hundred men at work. But what shocked them even more was that this “female Kun” was on the street wearing only trousers, without even a skirt. “The Kun bandits are this morally corrupt!” a scholar wrote in his journal that night. He then added, “The female Kun has a graceful figure and a certain charm of her own.”