Chapter 518 - The Sanya Special District Leadership
The next day, Ruan Xiaowu took delivery of the newly refitted Yu Te 04 at the shipyard. Only then did he receive his formal orders: Yu Te 04 would join the Navy's Yulin Harbor Detachment as a permanent station.
Chen Haiyang had concluded that although the Navy had absorbed Zhu Cailao's remnants and various other small pirate bands—expanding its scale dramatically—combat effectiveness had improved only marginally. The limited number of vessels that could be called "modern" main-force ships still had to be reserved for defending Lingao and escorting the sea lanes. Yulin Harbor's current purpose was to serve as an export terminal for iron ore and other local resources, not as a naval base from which to strike in all directions.
Given these limited objectives, the Yulin Harbor Detachment's mission would be security-oriented: patrolling, inspecting, countering small-scale hostile actions, and—when necessary—transporting Army units for maneuver within the bay. Should a large-scale attack actually occur, the heavy naval guns of Luhuitou Fortress would provide resistance; the detachment need not engage in fleet actions.
Accordingly, the vessels chosen for the detachment were small craft under a hundred tons, subjected to simple conversion and reinforcement, and armed with a modest number of guns. Like the other special-duty boats sent to Sanya, Yu Te 04 carried only two 12-pounder naval smoothbores—one fore, one aft—plus a "Typewriter" mounted on the poop deck. Because the special-duty boats had low freeboards, anti-boarding nets that could be raised or lowered were installed as defense against enemy grappling attempts.
The vessel was tiny indeed. Including Ruan Xiaowu, her full complement was only eighteen men. Apart from himself as the sole officer, there was just one naval officer cadet serving as navigator.
The sailors were taken aback by the arrival of such a young captain. Months of rigorous training and disciplinary instruction had cowed them into not openly challenging an officer's authority—but exchanged glances and raised eyebrows still passed among them.
Ruan Xiaowu felt a flutter of nerves. He surveyed the sailors under his command—tall or short, fat or thin, but uniformly clad in Year-One naval uniforms.
They were unruly, salt-sprayed veterans of the South China Sea who had spent years eating hardtack and drinking sea breezes. Some had sailed north and south, visiting Batavia, Patani, Manila, Ryukyu, and Japan; others had never ventured beyond the bays near their home villages. Some were destitute fishermen who had toiled all day without filling their bellies; others were old pirates, years roaming the sea, to whom murder and plunder were daily bread.
Chance had gathered them, dressed them in the same uniform, hammered them into identically shaped soldiers, and finally set them on the deck of this special-duty boat to face a captain who was still a few days short of his sixteenth birthday.
The sea wind swept over the deck; the rigging creaked and groaned; the planking rose and fell with the swells. Ruan Xiaowu gazed at this freshly painted ship—from now on, she was his. In that instant, a pride he had never known surged through his heart. Ruan Xiaowu—a fisherman's son who had nearly starved to death in the streets—was now a captain. Henceforth, he would be responsible not only for himself but for this ship and everyone aboard.
"Captain, all crew assembled and awaiting orders!" The highest-ranking sailor on board—the naval officer cadet—saluted and reported.
He was a young man of about twenty-five or twenty-six, eyes full of puzzlement—probably wondering why the chiefs had chosen someone so young to be captain.
"At ease," Ruan Xiaowu said, his voice calm.
The permanent naval forces dispatched to the Sanya Special District consisted of the Navy's Sanya Detachment and the Yulin Harbor Base Unit. The former comprised six special-duty boats and a handful of sampans; the latter consisted of a fortress-artillery company and a marine platoon. Numbers were modest; the most powerful weapons were two 120mm muzzle-loading rifled guns. Though they fired only solid iron-tipped shot, in this era that was enough to destroy any vessel afloat. The Base Unit also carried two "Typewriters" mounted on two-wheeled light carriages for close-range support—available also to reinforce Army operations if needed.
The commander chosen for the naval contingent in Sanya was Li Haiping, recalled from Wuchang Fortress a month earlier. His days at Wuchang had been both fulfilling and tedious: fulfilling because every day brought endless work—Wuchang Fortress had become a key trading post for commerce with the Li region, and with Lingao's ever-growing demand for cattle, its pens and warehouses were under constant expansion. Tedious because, come nightfall, with no electricity available, everyone simply went to bed. After several months, Li Haiping was deeply tanned, in peak physical condition, with stamina to spare.
There were not many candidates the Navy could dispatch. Chen Haiyang had few men in his pocket. He Ming was, after all, an elder, and his military career was even richer than Chen Haiyang's own—better to keep him as an adviser. Meng De was a merchant-ship crewman; Yulin and Li Di were both naval enthusiasts who, despite a year and a half of practice, were still entry-level sailors. In a sense, their practical seamanship and combat skills were inferior to those of Wang Dahuzi and other pirate-origin indigenous officers. Being stationed at Yulin Harbor was nothing like being in Lingao, backed by the full might of the transmigrated collective. Defending the port with just a handful of small boats was not something amateurs could manage.
After mulling it over, only Li Haiping seemed suitable. He was a former PLA Navy man. Though his rank had not been high, he had at least been a professional naval serviceman—he had served aboard ships and ashore. Such versatility suited Yulin Base's needs.
Li Haiping thus became Commander of the Detachment and concurrently Chief of the Base Unit. He asked Chen Haiyang to grant him a rank.
"Indigenous officers have all been given ranks now—shoulder boards and all. We're still bare-shouldered. That looks pretty bad when issuing commands, doesn't it? Improper title, unclear justification." Li Haiping proposed that, given the position he was about to hold, he ought to be given the rank of commodore.
"Commodore?" Chen Haiyang shook his head repeatedly. "Indigenous ranks are easy to assign, but the Executive Committee hasn't even formally begun discussing our own administrative grades and ranks. Ranks will come in due course."
"So I'm just supposed to be a commander with no markings?" Li Haiping muttered, clearly dissatisfied.
"We can discuss that later. The Sanya garrison commander will be the Army's Xi Yazhou. A company will also be assigned to assist in defending Luhuitou Base. Make sure you maintain good relations—don't stir up conflicts."
"Old Xi, huh? No problem!" Li Haiping grinned. "We used to play wargames together all the time."
That day, Wen Desi summoned Wang Luobin to his office.
"Director Wang, you're looking well lately." Wen Desi and Wang Luobin shared a relationship closer than most—they had been through one of the "three bonds forged in iron" that men speak of—so when they were alone, the tone was less formal.
"Not bad, not bad. Just wondering when the personal-secretary situation is going to be resolved." Wang Luobin had been busy lately overseeing the plan to convert Fengcheng's auxiliaries to coal gas.
"That'll happen soon," Wen Desi said in a low voice. "How would you like to serve as Governor of the Sanya Special District?"
"?!" Wang Luobin's jaw dropped. The Executive Committee had not announced a candidate for Sanya's top post; in fact, no one even discussed it much. The Sanya Special District's designation and planning were already laid out, and its importance dwarfed branch operations like Leizhou or Qiongzhou. At the very least, it was a reserve main base.
Who would hold the senior post in the Sanya Special District was a sensitive matter—this would be the transmigrated collective's first regional chief executive. All parties had therefore refrained from proposing candidates and asked Wen Desi to make a "sacred ruling"—though when actually spoken, the phrase was "Would Director Wen please suggest a candidate for consideration."
"Wouldn't that be controversial?" Wang Luobin knew full well how significant the position was.
"No. You're a technical specialist by background—you understand all kinds of technology, and you're an all-rounder when it comes to construction. You can handle civil administration and military matters reasonably well. Your prestige score is high enough." Wen Desi paused. "Besides, since D-Day, though you've been an Executive Committee member, you haven't actually headed a formal department. Your treatment has been on the low side. Given that alone, your appointment as Governor of the Sanya Special District would be beyond reproach."
"Well—" Wang Luobin was certainly drawn to becoming a regional chief executive, but going to Sanya would mean abandoning his current leisurely life as a technical adviser and consultant. Leaving Lingao—which was starting to feel like a comfortable nest—for the wilderness of Yulin Harbor to open up a new base... he was reluctant.
"Director Wang, you're not especially attached to the cozy little nest here in Lingao, are you?"
"You've hit the nail on the head," Wang Luobin admitted. "Life in Lingao is pretty good. Go to Sanya and become a general contractor?"
"The people doing the actual work will be specialized professionals. You just oversee the whole thing," Wen Desi said. "You're governor now—feel free to expand your administrative staff."
"All right. But 'governor' doesn't sound right—too apt to trigger associations and resentment. Let's just call it Special City Mayor or District Chief."
"'Special City' doesn't have the right ring. Let's make it Greater District Chief."
And so, at the twenty-third working meeting for the Sanya Development Plan, Wen Desi nominated—and the full body approved—Wang Luobin as Greater District Chief of the Sanya Special District.
The organizational structure of the Sanya Special District was also discussed and finalized at the same meeting. The highest authority in the district was the Greater District Chief, who possessed jurisdiction over all civil affairs throughout the Sanya region—including administration, justice, the economy, public security, and so forth.
The militia to be organized in the Sanya region would be commanded and deployed by the Greater District Chief. Only the Army and Navy garrisons remained under direct vertical leadership from the Executive Committee in Lingao. The Sanya Special District Government had no command authority over the stationed military forces. To facilitate coordination between the local government and the military, the Executive Committee also established a Sanya Regional Committee composed of five members: the heads of the Army and Navy garrisons, the Greater District Chief, the Director of the Tiandu Mining Bureau, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Sanya Construction Headquarters. All major military issues would be coordinated and decided by this committee.
(End of Chapter)