Chapter 419 - Study Class (Part 2)

Those wishing to keep their ships could continue commanding the fleet. They would join the newly formed joint-venture franchise company under the Foreign Business Committee—the Southeast Asian Company—specializing in overseas trade. The leaders would contribute their vessels as shares, with each hundred-ton ship counting as one share. Ships exceeding one hundred tons were calculated proportionally, while ships under one hundred tons were not accepted.

Ships joining the Southeast Asian Company would conduct overseas trading activities while also completing transportation, combat, and patrol assignments from the Naval Department. The Southeast Asian Company operated under the dual leadership of the Foreign Business Committee and the Naval Department. However, in terms of status, the company's management could participate in expanded meetings of the Executive Committee.

After this policy was announced, the assembly found it acceptable. Although supplementing personnel and unifying logistics had greatly diminished their private control over the fleets, maintaining even nominal command of their ships made many feel more comfortable psychologically.

Most chose to join the Southeast Asian Company. Since they would be venturing into open waters, small vessels served no purpose and might as well be surrendered for silver. Shi Shisi stood apart from the others, firmly demanding to hand over all his ships to the organization and refusing a single coin in return. He asked only to serve as a minor official—a "Qianzong" or similar—in the Naval Department.

Wei Aiwen found this strange. Why had this pirate leader suddenly become so enlightened? Could he truly believe they might march on Beijing and let him become a founding hero?

Lin Dan likewise surrendered his ships without hesitation, equally refusing silver. His single condition: the Crossing Group must do everything in its power to help locate his family.

"Whatever silver is due, that's what we'll pay. That's credibility," Wei Aiwen said. "As for finding your family—we will do our utmost. Aren't we all one family now?"

Fatty Hu straightforwardly surrendered all five of his ships. His request was simply not to go to sea anymore. He wanted to run a farm.

"Before I became a pirate, I was skilled at farming. If those damned Yang Six and Yang Seven hadn't burned down my manor, I would never have entered this line of work."

"If you hadn't entered this line of work, you might have lost everything long ago," Lin Dan observed. "A country bumpkin rich man like you is just a piece of fat meat."

After a round of registration and allocation, five of the eleven leaders who had brought ships—large or small—were willing to surrender all of them. Among these, Hu Wumei (known as Fatty Hu, given such a feminine name by his elders because bearing descendants had been difficult for the family) indicated he no longer wished to work the sea. He wanted to take the silver and purchase some land and a house to settle down.

"You won't need to purchase land and a house—we're assigning you a house," Wu De said, nodding from beside them. "How about this: you work as a farm supervisor for us. There's a school endowment manor outside the county town with several hundred mu of land that needs a manager. You can take your wife, children, and relatives to live there. You may also bring a few of your personal soldiers with you."

"Very well, managing a farm is my old trade." Hu Wumei seemed fairly satisfied with this arrangement. "I'd also like to buy some additional land. Would that be permitted?"

Wu De nodded. "Of course, but we have policies regarding land purchases. You'll have to wait a bit—silver in your pocket is still silver; it won't lose value."

"Good, good." Hu Wumei was quite satisfied.

Shi Shisi, Lin Dan, Li Guangfa, and others chose to join the Australian Group's Navy directly.

The remaining six leaders joined the Southeast Asian Company. They also surrendered their smaller ships, retaining only the larger ones. On average, each still commanded three to five major vessels.

Yan Ming brought personnel from the Delong Grain Shop to handle ship purchases on-site. The units of measurement for ancient Chinese ships were rather complicated—some used materials, some calculated by size, others by tonnage. Yan Ming's pricing used shipbuilding costs from along the Guangdong and Fujian coasts, collected by the Guangzhou Station, as the baseline reference, then assessed each ship's materials, condition, and accessories. Overall, the prices were generous—though in truth, these vessels had been adrift at sea for two or three years without repairs and were generally in poor condition.

All prices were paid in silver, delivered in full to the leaders. This too was a way to build trust. Yan Ming estimated that, given current consumption patterns in Lingao, these men would soon grow weary of inconvenient silver.

After the formalities concluded, each leader designated a few trusted subordinates to handle ship transfer procedures. Once Planning Commission personnel broke the seals, cannons, ammunition, grain, materials, and personal luggage were moved from each ship piece by piece. Personal items were generally returned to their owners after disinfection. Cannons, grain, weapons, and other supplies were all registered and turned over to the public. Regardless of whether these ships had been purchased, the shipyard would conduct comprehensive repairs and modifications on all of them so they could carry out missions in the autumn.

With arrangements finalized, everyone received a two-month leave to settle their families and attend to private affairs. Subsequently, doctors from the Health Department conducted physical examinations for the leaders and their families—several were immediately dispatched to the STD clinic. The remainder, after undergoing "purification," received the keys to their new homes.

This batch of residences specially prepared for the pirate leaders was located in the upscale residential area of the Bopu Commune—the first pilot district for high-end housing. Each row contained twelve units, with three rows completed. Except for Hu Wumei, who went to the farm, and Lin Dan, the other nine households moved in. Lin Dan, being alone, found the prospect of living in such a large house by himself lonely and requested quarters in the Navy barracks instead. Chen Haiyang assigned him an officer's dormitory at the Bopu Naval Base.

The interior decoration, furniture, furnishings, and daily necessities were all complete. Wu De had instructed that everything should embody four standards: "tidy, clean, comfortable, and respectable." Flowers and trees had also been planted in the front and back yards. For the pirate families, long accustomed to cramped quarters at sea, the experience proved delightful. The faucet that produced water with just a push of the lever caused a particular sensation.

The Crossing Group also arranged a gatekeeper for each household—typically older men who watched the gate, cleaned, and received visitors. Dressed in brand-new blue garments and seated at the gate, they looked quite impressive. In reality, they were all part-time informants receiving stipends from the General Administration of Political Security.

When the families moved in, Dingding, the head of Publicity, brought the band to play music while setting off firecrackers as usual, striving to create a festive atmosphere. Congratulatory gifts for the housewarmings were then presented in the names of Wei Aiwen, Chen Haiyang, Wu De, and Lin Baiguang respectively. Finally, gifts were presented in the name of the Executive Committee.

The leaders, for the moment, couldn't decipher the Australians' system. Some believed this "Executive Committee" was probably the name of the Australian Emperor. Others, somewhat more literate, recognized it as an institution similar to the "Cabinet." Regardless, it was a rare honor. So when the gifts arrived, everyone still knelt and kowtowed to express gratitude, then respectfully placed the gifts in the center of the main hall. This left Wei Aiwen, who had come to congratulate them, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

The gifts were quite simple—no gold, silver, jewelry, antiques, or calligraphy. Just daily necessities: firewood, rice, oil, salt, cloth, and silk. Though not valuable, for newcomers who had just arrived and didn't even know where to purchase things, the gesture was exceptionally thoughtful.

Finally, the cafeteria delivered a housewarming banquet. Wei Aiwen, Chen Haiyang, and others personally accompanied them, and the atmosphere was warm and convivial. The various courtesies and preferential treatment since landing had left everyone deeply grateful.

Then came "study sessions" every few days. The content consisted of movies, lectures, and the "tours" the Communist Party had used repeatedly when conducting "thought reform." The only regret was that the Crossing Group didn't possess many industrial enterprises to display, and most facilities remained rather modest in scale. Nevertheless, even the limited factories demonstrated a semi-modern production capacity sufficient to astonish people from the medieval era.

Wei Aiwen assigned each leader a student from the Political Department training class. Nominally, these students served as translators so the leaders could understand the lecture content. In essence, they conducted one-on-one infiltration-style propaganda.

The leaders also observed Army and Navy drills, artillery target practice, and infantry formation exercises. But apart from the tremendous force when artillery fired, these demonstrations didn't leave as deep an impression as the factories had. Mostly, the leaders were simply watching for entertainment—most knew very little about military affairs. Even their naval tactics were unremarkable: basically following flags to charge, using cannons at long range, firing rockets at close range, and finally boarding for melee combat.

Besides tours and movies, there were lectures. Since most leaders were illiterate, literacy campaigns weren't conducted at this stage—these men were accustomed to being unrestrained and didn't yet appreciate the importance of knowledge. Having them sit properly like students in class simply wouldn't work. So the lectures took the form of symposiums focused on ideological cultivation. Besides Wei Aiwen himself, Lin Baiguang, Wu De, Chen Haiyang, and others took turns attending. These gatherings were generally held in farm pavilions, with tea, snacks, and fruits provided. Eating, drinking, then chatting. Through such conversations, the Crossing Group's viewpoints were gradually instilled, and questions were answered as they arose—from popular science topics like why iron ships can float to whether the "Australians" intended to rebel and seize the world. Regarding rebellion, Wei Aiwen always smiled mysteriously and declined to answer.

This approach to equal and trusting conversation made a strong impression on the leaders. Nearly all came from impoverished backgrounds and were accustomed to government brutality. Although there existed some "democratic" atmosphere within pirate groups, under the family-style management system, as outsiders with different surnames, they could only keep their grievances about internal injustices to themselves. Now, with everyone speaking openly and freely, a sense of exhilaration prevailed. Many couldn't help venting their dissatisfaction with Zhu Cailao.

Wei Aiwen listened and nodded, thinking that at the Quarantine Camp, the sailors were probably venting their dissatisfaction with this very group of men.

(End of Chapter)