Chapter 273: The Tripitaka Plan

When it came to intelligence gathering, the network the Guangzhou Station had laid in Leizhou could already collect most of the relevant information—confidentiality was not a concept the locals understood. Given sufficient time, nearly anything could be unearthed. So why had the Executive Committee dispatched Bei Wei and the mysterious Chen Tianxiong? Were they truly planning to occupy Leizhou?

Setting his doubts aside, Chang Shide was in no position to ask directly. With people from "the center" present, he could hardly invite the women to his room these past few nights. For someone who had grown accustomed to nightly revelry, the enforced abstinence was proving difficult to bear.

That evening, Bei Wei joined Chen Tianxiong, who had been staying out of sight with his team in the compound.

"We've come to Leizhou with a mission," Chen Tianxiong said, getting straight to the point.

Chang Shide and Wen Tong both nodded. Wen Tong rose, stepped outside to check the courtyard, and said to Zhou Shizhai, who was resting with eyes closed beneath the veranda:

"Keep watch. Don't let anyone approach."

Zhou Shizhai gave a slight nod. Wen Tong returned to the room.

"Go ahead. What's this about?"

"The plan is still in the evaluation phase. Bei Wei and I are actually here for the same task: on-site reconnaissance to assess feasibility and gather operational intelligence. As for the content—" He paused. "The plan is codenamed 'Project Tripitaka.'"

Project Tripitaka?! Wen Tong and Chang Shide stared. Was this some kind of joke?

Seeing their expressions, Chen Tianxiong explained: "Do you remember the first tribulation in the story of Tripitaka's origins?"

"The story of Jiang Liu'er—" Of course they'd all read Journey to the West. They racked their brains to recall the plot surrounding the monk's birth.

Chang Shide's face changed color. "You mean we're going to become river pirates?!"

"Exactly." Chen Tianxiong nodded.

A member of the Intelligence and Archives Committee, while compiling Historical Reference Materials, had stumbled upon a story in the Leizhou Gazetteer.

During the Chongzhen reign, an official newly appointed as Prefect of Leizhou was traveling to take up his post with his family when he encountered a band of mountain bandits. The official and his household were slaughtered. What made the tale remarkable was that the bandit leader, armed with the dead man's credentials, actually journeyed to Leizhou, took over from the previous prefect, and served as a proper official.

This bandit held the post for two full years—and with a good reputation, at that. It was only when the real official's son arrived in Leizhou seeking refuge and discovered the impostor's identity that the truth came out. The boy reported the matter to the local Brokerade Guard. The Jinyiwei arranged a banquet and lured the bandit into an ambush, where he was captured and confessed to the entire affair.

This "curious tale" unearthed from old documents sparked limitless imagination in the intelligence departments. The Leizhou Gazetteer was a local historical record of considerable reliability.

What if the person who took over the post wasn't a bandit—but a transmigrator?

The idea was so audacious that it met immediate opposition from many in the General Office and Intelligence Committee. But supporters raised the most powerful argument: if an ordinary bandit could occupy the position of Leizhou Prefect for so long and govern effectively, a transmigrator from the 21st century should be able to do the same—especially with the entire Transmigration Collective behind him.

Opponents countered that a Ming Dynasty bandit could impersonate a prefect only because he exploited the era's information asymmetry. Whatever his flaws, a bandit was still a man of his time. His understanding of Ming society exceeded anything a visitor from the future could possess. Sending someone from a completely different era to impersonate an official was pure fantasy.

"Our people, when standing among the indigenous population, display differences that are far too obvious!" Ran Yao objected strenuously. "Ask me to impersonate a county-level mayor or party secretary in the 21st century, and I might have a chance—I've never eaten pork, but I've seen pigs run. But now you're proposing we find a white Anglo-Saxon to serve as a Chinese city leader. Is that possible? And the gap between us and Ming Dynasty people is even greater than the difference between modern Americans and Chinese!"

His argument was sound. But the potential benefits were simply too attractive—the entire Leizhou Prefecture would effectively fall under transmigrator control. Though various officials served beneath the Leizhou Prefect, no one doubted that under combined economic and military pressure, all of them would submit. Ultimately, the result could be a "Red inside, White outside" style local government.

Minor benefits like facilitating commercial infiltration were one thing. The key was legitimate entry into the Great Ming's bureaucratic system—participation in its operations, direct access to government information. This would be far more timely and reliable than the Guangzhou Station's method of bribing yamen clerks. Control of Leizhou would add a buffer zone for Qiongzhou as well. Should the Ming ever mount a campaign against Lingao, Leizhou—directly across the strait—would inevitably serve as a major transit area for troops. Whether for intelligence or harassment, they would have a reliable forward base.

"If taking over one official position brings such benefits, why not assassinate the Prefect of Guangzhou and replace the incoming official on the road?" someone challenged.

"Because the mountain bandit in Leizhou actually succeeded in history, whereas an attempt to replace the Prefect of Guangzhou never happened. Right now, we only need to replace the bandit, just as we're preparing to replace the Manchus," Chen Tianxiong replied. He was a warm supporter of the plan.

After several internal discussions, the proposal was submitted to an enlarged meeting of the Executive Committee.

"I object." Wu Nanhai was firm. "This is a critical period for our government's development. The knowledge possessed by every transmigrator is extremely precious. I oppose doing something this dangerous."

"So we're not going to do anything revolutionary because we're afraid of dying?" Xi Yazhou, who had been "recuperating from illness" for many days, reappeared at the meeting. Only his waistline had expanded—the lean, capable look he'd developed over the past year had regressed to his earlier military-otaku appearance. "I firmly support this proposal. It will be of great help for future development."

"Send a relatively loyal indigenous person instead," Xiao Zishan offered cautiously. "With how we speak, and our poor handwriting, impersonating a Ming Dynasty prefect would be too difficult."

"Do you think the bandit's handwriting was any good? Perhaps he was illiterate—and he still governed quite well for two years."

"Who says bandits are uneducated? Maybe he was a cultured man fallen on hard times."

"Or perhaps he was one of our predecessors... unfortunately cut down before achieving his ambitions..."

"Attention, please don't go off topic." Ma Qianzhu, chairing the meeting, was deeply disgusted by the habit of derailing threads at every gathering.

"On this point, I agree with Commissioner Xiao," Wu De said. "It's not just speech and handwriting. In many lifestyle habits and mannerisms, we're completely out of sync with the indigenous population. We might fool ordinary people—at most they'd think us eccentric. But what's truly dangerous is encountering colleagues, subordinates, superiors, and gentry. Those people wouldn't be so easy to hoodwink."

"We should select a relatively loyal indigenous person," someone suggested. "Like Zhang Xingjiao. He's educated, speaks Mandarin, and should be suitable."

"Comrade, revolution is not a dinner party," Xi Yazhou retorted bluntly. "This task, though dangerous, is critical. If we don't send one of our own to take charge and rely only on a few recruited natives, can you guarantee reliability? Zhang Xingjiao may be reliable now, but what if he develops a taste for officialdom and decides to trade our heads for a real position?"

"Then we don't necessarily need a transmigrator as prefect," Wu Nanhai said. "We can use a puppet and control things from behind the scenes."

"That's even less secure," Wei Aiwen dismissed. "Don't forget—we're infiltrating the court. What matters most is the position itself. With a puppet, how would it differ from merely collecting information among the common people?" He snorted. "What can you expect from civil officials? So afraid of dying."

"How can you say that? Without administrative personnel, where would your Army get weapons and food?" Wu Nanhai leapt to his feet, pointing.

"And what about the Army providing free labor every day? All unpaid!" Wei Aiwen clearly intended to settle old accounts with the Agriculture Department.

"Without military protection, it's questionable whether the Transmigration Collective could even survive." Le Lin, the naval representative, fired his own salvo. The naval firebrand Li Haiping and most senior officers were at sea, so the role fell to the Hong Kong military enthusiast who dressed like a movie star. Though the navy and army's young hotheads quarreled over resources and manpower, they were even more at odds with the administrators who controlled the Collective's purse strings.

"Alright, everyone calm down." Director Wen intervened before civil-military conflict could erupt. "The Leizhou Prefect position is very important to us. My view is that we should try to take it if possible. Whether the prefect should be a transmigrator or an indigenous person, we can discuss later. Let's vote on whether to execute this proposal. All in favor, raise your hands." He raised his own first.

The resolution passed by an overwhelming majority.

"Alright, there's actually one issue we've overlooked," Wen Desi said slowly. "What year does this happen? Chongzhen reigned for seventeen years."

"According to the Leizhou Gazetteer, it was 1632."

"So there are still three years." Wen Desi nodded. "Three years is enough. The first thing we should do is send people to Leizhou for on-site reconnaissance of terrain and social environment to evaluate the plan's difficulty."

"Speaking of enthusiasm—let me remind everyone that execution will be extremely difficult," Ran Yao interjected. "What's the incoming official's name? Where's he from? What route is he taking? What date does he enter Leizhou's territory? None of this is in the book."

"Need you ask? He's obviously sitting in a sedan chair, with people in front holding signs like 'Silence' and 'Make Way'..."

"Stop joking. The man hasn't even taken office yet," Yu Eshui said. "Ran Yao is right. Without clarifying these details, how can the Special Reconnaissance Team intercept him? And there's another issue—we must act before the bandit does. I think finding the bandit will be harder than finding the official."

Xiao Zishan nodded. "True. An official taking up a post leaves a trail. But this nameless bandit—we don't know where he's holed up. Leizhou is vast. It's like searching for a needle in a haystack."

"That's not a major problem," Xi Yazhou said. "The key is still the official. If we find him, we can find the bandit. Even if the bandit acts first, it doesn't matter—so long as he hasn't received his seal of office, we can take him out on the road. From that perspective, neither bandit nor official truly matters. What's important is securing the credentials."

Once the plan was decided, the Executive Committee authorized the Intelligence Committee to formulate "Project Tripitaka." The plan had two parts. First: recruiting future infiltrators from among the transmigrators. Prerequisites included that losing the person wouldn't impair the Collective's enterprise, and participation must be voluntary. After recruitment, they would receive Intelligence Committee training to rapidly master Ming Dynasty customs and official Mandarin—while practicing calligraphy. Simultaneously, the Civil Affairs Committee received instructions to identify potential minor intellectuals among the population under transmigrator control, to be cultivated as backup personnel.

The second part involved large-scale intelligence gathering in Leizhou to evaluate Project Tripitaka's feasibility. Considering that the South China Sugar Factory was primarily an industrial operation and not ideally suited for intelligence work, the Executive Committee designated it as a support unit. Chen Tianxiong was dispatched as a dedicated intelligence operative to fully utilize the network the Guangzhou Station had established.

After hearing Chen Tianxiong's briefing, Wen Tong and Chang Shide finally understood. Chang Shide spoke excitedly: "This is thrilling! Replace everyone from top to bottom, hahaha... Better yet, let's replace the Xuwen County Magistrate too!"

"The idea is appealing, but the Leizhou Prefect is stationed in Haikang County. The prefectural and county governments share the same city. This fake prefect probably won't be easy to impersonate." Wen Tong expressed concern.

"That's precisely why Bei Wei is here," Chen Tianxiong said.

"This trip is a reconnaissance journey for Project Tripitaka." Bei Wei nodded. "To thoroughly survey the terrain, landscape, and urban environment of the entire Leizhou Prefecture, until we know it by heart."

"Good. Whatever you need, just ask. We'll do everything in our power to support the intelligence work."

"Find me reliable guides," Bei Wei said. "People who know the local situation intimately."

"Sure. Liao Dahua, the Qiwei branch manager, is excellent. He knows both the upper and lower social strata. Though he doesn't know martial arts..."

"That's fine. We're here to reconnoiter. We plan to disguise ourselves as small peddlers and wander about."

(End of Chapter)