Chapter 123: Guangzhou Trip (Part 3)

Xiao Zishan instructed Sun Chang to arrange mule carts and sedan chairs to collect their people from the dock. The others set about cooking and cleaning with such vigor that the empty mansion soon hummed with activity. Procuring transport proved simple enough—Sun Chang needed only to contact the Qiwei Escort Bureau, which, like most escort services, ran mule and horse carts as a sideline to supplement their convoy work. Everything they required was readily available.

While the transport was being arranged, Xiao Zishan ordered a sedan chair to carry him on a courtesy call to Gao Ju. En route, he questioned Sun Chang about the past year's developments. The news was largely unremarkable: since their departure, Gao Ju had frequently dispatched messengers bearing gifts, always inquiring after the Australian merchants. The neighborhood had remained peaceful. Beyond some minor market jitters caused by Liu Laoxiang's disturbances in the Pearl River estuary, nothing of consequence had occurred. As for official circles, Sun Chang knew little—only that some palace bigwig in Beijing had fallen and that Guangzhou's bureaucracy had weathered several shakeups. The specifics eluded him.

Xiao Zishan knew precisely which "palace bigwig" Sun Chang meant. Wei Zhongxian. History, it seemed, had not deviated from its course in this timeline: the once all-powerful "Nine Thousand Years" had taken his own life the previous year on the sixth day of the eleventh lunar month, at an inn in Fucheng County, Hebei. From last December through the first half of this year, the Chongzhen Emperor had been vigorously hunting the Wei faction's remnants, and the resulting official turmoil came as no surprise. The transmigrators had reason to be grateful for this upheaval—with everyone in the capital consumed by panic, no one had spared a thought for some pirate incursion on distant Hainan.

Xiao Zishan's sudden appearance brought Gao Ju both surprise and joy. The matter of Wei Zhongxian's shrine construction had troubled him for some time, and finding no better option, he had ultimately employed the strategy Manager Wen had taught him: "stall." That mysterious manager had stated with peculiar certainty, "Within the month, there will be major changes." And so, when Eunuch Yang arrived in Guangzhou demanding daily progress reports, Gao Ju had dared not delay too brazenly. Instead, he had made leisurely preparations and stretched proceedings out for roughly twenty days. Then, without warning, Little Eunuch Yang had appeared to bid farewell, ordering the shrine construction halted before hurrying back to Beijing with the prepared Australian goods. Gao Ju had been utterly flabbergasted. Ten days later, correspondence from Beijing arrived with the explanation—on May eighteenth, the Emperor had suddenly fallen gravely ill. This left Gao Ju not merely amazed but genuinely chilled; goosebumps prickled across his flesh.

On the eighteenth of May, there will be changes in Beijing. Matters can be delayed. Those had been Manager Wen's parting words. Compared against present reality, this already mysterious group of sea merchants now seemed positively unfathomable. Gao Ju had urgently dispatched agents to inquire whether anyone had sighted strange foreign mega-ships, but no word came. He resigned himself to waiting—surely they would seek him out eventually, given that 200,000 liang in payment remained in his keeping. He waited over a year, yet still nothing. Just when hope had faded, rumors reached him this past month: near Qiongzhou, an unprecedented giant ship had appeared. The crew were all short-haired and short-clothed—and reputedly ferocious. Could this be the Australian merchants' vessel? He was just weighing whether to send investigators when they arrived of their own accord.

Gao Ju ordered preparations for a welcome banquet while they exchanged pleasantries. He produced the sales ledgers—50,000 liang was currently available, with the remainder gatherable within ten days or so.

"The silver isn't urgent. It can remain with Manager Gao for now." The transmigrators were currently short on materials rather than coin. Xiao Zishan wasted no time explaining that this trip was for procurement. Given the diverse merchandise required, he would need Manager Gao's assistance. Gao Ju assumed the requests would involve the usual porcelain, spices, and hardwoods, and readily agreed. But upon opening the list, he was stunned. The items were nothing like what he had expected: pig iron, graphite, fluorite, chalcanthite, alum, copperas, saltpeter, Glauber's salt, soda ash, sulfur, arsenic, realgar, orpiment, cinnabar, borax, gypsum ore, tin, lead, copper, mercury...

Most of these Gao Ju could not even identify. Some he recognized from workshop use, while others were simply medicinal ingredients. Saltpeter and sulfur, of course, were government-controlled. Pig iron was manageable despite the staggering demand for 10,000 shi—he would merely need to visit multiple forges. But mercury—ten shi?! All the mercury in Guangzhou combined might not yield a single shi. What could they possibly want it for? Had some Australian emperor died, requiring mercury for embalming?

Lost in such speculation, he was interrupted when Xiao Zishan noticed his shifting expressions. "Are there difficulties?"

"Everything is findable," Gao Ju said, setting down the list. "It's simply that these quantities are rather excessive. Take chalcanthite and mercury—the entire city might hold one shi at most. Where would such quantities come from?"

"Then please do what you can, Elder Brother Gao. Whatever amount is available, we'll take it." Xiao Zishan did not know what these materials were for, but items specifically ordered were surely essential.

"Since Little Brother entrusts Elder Brother with this, naturally I'll do my utmost." Gao Ju's form of address shifted to something more intimate, and his voice dropped lower. "However, several items on this list are contraband. Elder Brother is not incapable of obtaining them—but everything needs proper justification for safe handling."

Xiao Zishan was startled. He had known that saltpeter and sulfur might be controlled, but had not considered the others. "Which are contraband?"

"Iron is prohibited from export, but that's manageable. Copper, arsenic, saltpeter, and sulfur present the real difficulties—especially given the quantities you're requesting."

"These are raw materials for manufacturing Australian goods." Xiao Zishan had learned from Sun Chang that Gao Ju had made a fortune on Australian goods, becoming something of a "wealth legend" in Guangzhou. Using "raw materials for Australian goods" as justification would ensure the man's fullest effort. It was also true—the Industrial Department desperately needed these substances for modern manufacturing.

Indeed, Gao Ju fell silent, apparently weighing something in his mind. After a moment, as if reaching resolution, he spoke. "Since Little Brother requires them, Elder Brother will certainly assist. Gathering such quantities simply takes time. How long can Little Brother wait?"

"Fifteen days."

"Somewhat tight. I'll dispatch my managers to procure from multiple sources. We'll arrange it as best we can." He paused. "Where should the goods be delivered? The same location as before?"

"This is where I require Elder Brother's guidance." Xiao Zishan had another objective beyond procurement: establishing reliable Guangzhou-Hainan transport lines. Future large-scale purchasing operations in Guangzhou would require suitable transshipment points. The city itself had too many prying eyes—moving bulk goods in and out was inconvenient. They needed an external warehouse.

He explained his requirements to Gao Ju, who assured him this was easily arranged. He owned a private warehouse dock on Youyu Islet in the Pearl River estuary, territory controlled by smuggler-fishermen who were half-civilian and half-bandit. Urban officials dared not set foot there; the place was practically a lawless zone. The transmigrators' ship could dock freely, and Gao Ju would allocate a separate warehouse for goods transshipment.

"That works admirably," Xiao Zishan said, satisfied with the arrangement. He added that their purchasing would be ongoing—whatever quantities became available, they would buy all of it.

With business matters settled, Gao Ju inquired whether they had brought new Australian goods. Xiao Zishan merely offered a faint smile. "Those are just small trinkets. Give it a few months—Elder Brother will see what we can truly produce."

This gave Gao Ju boundless room for imagination—but also stirred a quiet unease. Personally, he felt no fear of the short-haired young man before him. But the shadowy, powerful force lurking behind him was deeply disquieting. These Australian merchants were most definitely not mere merchants.

Xiao Zishan's next visit was to Sun Kecheng, manager of the Qiwei Escort Bureau. Escort bureaus possessed precisely the long-distance bulk transport capabilities that would make them excellent partners for establishing overland routes.

En route, Sun Chang had briefed him on the bureau's particulars. It was a network woven from family ties, clan bonds, hometown connections, and martial brotherhoods. From Chief Escort Sun Kecheng down to counter clerks and stable hands, everyone was related by blood, region, or sworn fraternity. They exclusively ran the Guangzhou-to-Nanchang routes, supplemented by provincial short-haul work, and maintained multiple branch offices along the way. By Guangdong standards, it was a middle-sized operation with connections everywhere. Xiao Zishan calculated that gaining influence over this bureau would greatly benefit their Guangdong trade and intelligence operations.

Chief Escort Sun was pleased by the visit—these Australian merchants clearly valued relationships. Xiao Zishan presented gifts, and the conversation proceeded pleasantly. Then he inquired about the bureau's business.

Sun Kecheng sighed repeatedly, his expression darkening. The escort work itself wasn't the problem—it was the routes, which grew more dangerous by the month. Bandits in the old days had at least been "men of the trade," following underworld rules and professional courtesies. These past two years, however, roving marauders dominated the highways—desperate peasants and unpaid deserting soldiers who respected no names and honored no codes. They saw goods and robbed; they saw people and killed. Where past bandits had wanted only valuables, these new marauders seized everything—goods, carts, mules, the lot.

With bandits running rampant, villages and towns everywhere had organized militias and erected defensive strongholds. Passing through meant constant questioning and hostile scrutiny. Outsider bureaus like theirs—if not for most of their brothers being Jiangxi natives with local connections—couldn't have found food or lodging at all. Several forced convoys had succeeded without losing cargo, but more than ten brothers had been killed or wounded. The bureau's staff had begun to feel their future was deeply uncertain.

When Xiao Zishan proposed investing as shareholders while opening new routes, Sun Kecheng's jaw dropped. In all the years since escort businesses began, no bureau had ever served as an investment opportunity for outside money. Brothers pooling resources was sufficient to open shop. Earnings came from physical labor and risking one's life. Year-round, everyone perhaps achieved modest comfort—significant dividends simply didn't exist. Nobody had ever thought to invest money in escort bureaus before.

"No dividends required," Xiao Zishan assured him, then proceeded to explain. "We're establishing businesses across the Ming realm. Shop operations and shipping will inevitably arise. For land and water transport, nobody knows the trade better than you. This investment means, first, that we won't take bureau dividends, and second, that we won't interfere with internal affairs. Simply this—wherever our businesses expand, your routes follow."

(End of Chapter)