Chapter 627 - Raiding Qiongshan

Selecting targets for the stockade raids required careful deliberation. First, the victims had to possess notorious reputations among the common folk. Second, they needed to wield considerable local influence. Only by striking such figures could the operation serve as a warning to others without terrorizing ordinary peasants or inadvertently uniting them against a common enemy.

Finding suitable targets proved straightforward enough. Ever since consolidating their hold over Lingao, the Intelligence Department had been methodically gathering information on neighboring Danzhou and Chengmai counties in preparation for future territorial expansion and military operations. The transmigrator group now possessed a remarkably comprehensive understanding of conditions throughout the region.

After careful review, You Laohu and Yu Zhiqian circled several local tyrants—all textbook examples of landlords who colluded with corrupt officials to oppress their villages. More importantly, these targets were predominantly clan landlords. Destroying a single family would shatter an entire clan's stranglehold over the locality, an outcome far more consequential than merely eliminating a handful of petty despots.

Over the following week, Yu Zhiqian led his troops on an armed parade through Chengmai County, breaking two stockades and compelling numerous villages to provide grain and laborers. They seized substantial quantities of money, grain, and manpower. Most prisoners were dispatched under militia escort to Lingao for dispersed settlement, while Yu Zhiqian retained only a hundred-odd able-bodied men and several dozen captured tyrants and their lackeys, marching them to the foot of Chengmai County's walls. There, the men were put to work digging trenches and constructing earthworks.

You Laohu had originally intended merely to bluff, but with ample grain and manpower now at his disposal—and having witnessed Chengmai's utter lack of elite soldiers or capable commanders—a small skirmish beneath the city walls changed everything. Though casualties were few, the sight of township militia routing at the first crack of Minié rifles sent morale soaring among both transmigrators and indigenous soldiers alike.

With the aid of 12-pounder mountain howitzers, Minié rifles, and high explosives, breaking stockades—an operation of considerable difficulty for ordinary bandits or even Ming regular troops—proved almost effortless for Yu Zhiqian's unit. Their total casualties amounted to a mere nine wounded infantrymen, one militia killed, and eleven militia wounded. Had they not spent so much time collecting supplies, they could have broken several more fortifications.

After each stockade fell, Yu Zhiqian always allowed a few survivors to flee toward the prefectural city to raise the alarm. You Laohu, however, had long established ambush posts outside Chengmai's city gates; anyone attempting to enter and sound the warning was seized and hanged from the roadside trees. Eventually, no one bothered trying to reach the county seat anymore.

The captured tyrants and their henchmen were executed in batches, their bodies strung up on the great trees lining the official road between Chengmai and Qiongshan. For a time, all of Chengmai County trembled. Terrified gentry and merchants fled by night through the east and west gates in droves. Yu Zhiqian instructed his hidden sentries not to capture these refugees but to let them scatter in panic.

You Laohu and Yu Zhiqian conferred: with grain and men now in hand, why not establish a stockade beneath Chengmai's walls as a forward operating base? They dispatched a messenger back to Maniao requesting instructions. Seeing the scale of their operation, He Ming reinforced them with another infantry company and several squads of student soldiers from the training unit.

You Laohu set the laborers to constructing formal earthworks around Chengmai while sending crews to repair the docks and dredge the harbor at the coast. Mei Wan contributed an engineering team to supervise the construction, putting the conscripted labor to work improving the roads as well.

While Chengmai descended into chaos, the Special Reconnaissance Team led by Ye Mengyan was conducting equally aggressive operations along the Qiongshan-Haikou Coastal Defense Battalion-Chengmai corridor. Leading a thirty-man team, he infiltrated all the way to Qiongshan County, establishing several reconnaissance posts en route and extending the early warning network to the very walls of the Haikou Coastal Defense garrison. From there, he led his men along the Nandu River to the Jiazi Coal Mine.

Tang Menglong had long since received warning that the Ming army might soon launch a punitive campaign against Lingao.

In theory, the Jiazi Coal Mine was a Hai family asset, and officials had no business touching it. Moreover, its remote inland location and poor transport links made military action against it impractical. But the potential for attack always existed. The Administration Council's instructions to Tang Menglong were clear: halt all coal shipments, suspend Hai family wharf operations, retain only essential local personnel with specific duties handled by Lin Baiguang. At the mine itself, production was to be scaled back, military training for miners intensified, and fortifications strengthened.

By the time Ye Mengyan arrived at the Jiazi Coal Mine, production had ceased entirely. Only the coal washing plant and briquette factory continued processing existing stockpiles. The miners had been fully armed and were drilling bayonet techniques in the open. Tang Menglong had constructed several new blockhouses at the wharf and mining area, each capable of garrisoning five or six soldiers and stocked with numerous bamboo tubes packed with explosives.

"He Ming has obtained authorization from the Executive Committee: if necessary, you can lead your people out," Ye Mengyan told him. "You can withdraw now if you want. You've only got one platoon and thirty-some Minié rifles here. If the enemy's main force attacks, you can't possibly hold."

"Why would the government army bother attacking this coal mine?" Tang Menglong replied with an unconcerned shrug. "You walked the mountain road on your way here. Would the government army ignore their actual objective, bypass Lingao entirely, and march all this way just to pick a fight? Besides, this mine is technically Hai family property."

"This is just a precaution," Ye Mengyan said. "I've delivered the message. If you want to withdraw, do it quickly. The main government force hasn't reached Hainan yet—coordinating your evacuation now would be straightforward."

Tang Menglong considered for a moment. "I won't withdraw. We have several hundred people here, men and women both. Evacuation would be extremely inconvenient. If we were intercepted by government troops en route, the losses would be catastrophic. Besides, there's a tremendous amount of equipment and infrastructure here—it cost a fortune to build. If we abandon it, the mountain bandits and local villagers will strip the place clean. Rebuilding after we defeat the enemy would require another massive investment."

Since Tang Menglong had resolved to stay, Ye Mengyan didn't press the matter. He left behind the explosives and hand grenades he had brought, along with a squad of special operations soldiers to assist in the defense.

Ye Mengyan led the remaining men back through the mountains toward the Haikou area. His secondary mission was to harass local government and garrison troops in Qiongshan. The special operations team was small but well-equipped; lacking heavy weapons, however, besieging a city like You Laohu was not an option. Knowing that sniping a few passing messengers would accomplish little of strategic value, he simply led his team to Danying Mountain, which overlooked Qiongshan County from the outside.

"Set up a cannon on this high ground, and Qiongshan would surrender immediately," Ye Mengyan muttered, lowering his binoculars. He wore a civilian-version U.S. military jungle camouflage BDU from the Vietnam War era. A VZ68 submachine gun hung from his shoulder; he wore no helmet. Behind him sat twelve young men handpicked from his detachment, dressed identically except for their use of the less convenient SKS semi-automatic rifles. The spec ops soldiers sat silently in the woods, eating rations and drinking water.

The entire city of Qiongshan lay spread beneath him. Built against the mountains and facing the water, a great river flowed past the south and east gates; outside the west gate stretched a man-made moat. Only outside the north gate was there nothing—like most Hainan county seats, Qiongshan's north gate had been built but never opened. Though it possessed a tower and a gate, the interior was bricked shut.

The city's defenses were clearly poor. Even by seventeenth-century Ming standards, they were merely passable. Ye Mengyan observed that all three functioning city gates stood wide open, completely unguarded. Having infiltrated all the way here, aside from sentry posts and small patrols positioned ten li outside the Haikou Coastal Defense garrison, he had encountered no reconnaissance or precautionary measures along the entire route. Could this seriously be called a "pre-war footing"? It was practically child's play. The thought filled him with contempt for Ming officialdom.

"Detachment Leader! We've sneaked all the way to Qiongshan—what now?" one team member asked.

"Higher-ups want harassment." Ye Mengyan smiled. "I think this place can't withstand much harassment at all. If we charged down there, we could probably take Qiongshan County outright. Tricky situation."

"The streets outside the city are bustling. Why don't we set a fire and burn down the Qiongshan suburbs?" another member suggested. "Once the flames go up, old Wang Zunde will have no choice but to force the government army across the sea."

Ye Mengyan chuckled. "Terrible idea. What if everything burns out of control?" He thought to himself that it would actually be an effective method to rattle Wang Zunde—but the Planning Institute, the Administration Council, and the Senate would never forgive him, each for their own reasons.

"Burn the suburbs, and after we win we'll have to provide relief to the victims," he said aloud. "Think of something else!"

At noon that day, Ye Mengyan led the special operations team down from Danying Mountain. He had decided to make the East Gate Market Street outside Qiongshan's east gate his demonstration site. The area was crowded with pedestrians and shops—perfect for causing maximum sensation.

He positioned a covering group with automatic rifles on high ground outside the market. If a large enemy force rushed out from the city, they would use automatic fire to pin them down. He himself led seven or eight men to the entrance of the East Gate Suburban Street. Although outside the city walls, the area had a wooden barrier guarded by two militiamen.

When they saw Ye Mengyan and his motley-clothed, gear-festooned companions approaching, the militiamen's first reaction was not fear or alarm but curiosity. One of them, carrying a spear, even stepped forward for a better look. The moment he noticed their close-cropped stubble, sudden realization dawned on his face. Terror-stricken, he dropped his spear instantly and bolted toward the city gate, screaming at the top of his lungs:

"The Kun are here! The Kun are here!"

Ye Mengyan gestured with his submachine gun; his team members swarmed forward. Two men quickly secured the barrier entrance while he led the rest charging straight up the street toward the city gate.

It wasn't a market day, and few pedestrians wandered the street. When they saw the strange-looking group surge in, everyone froze momentarily.

A handful of militia at the city gate seemed to snap to attention. Seeing how few attackers there were, they let out a battle cry and poured out of the gate tunnel with swords and spears at the ready. One of Ye Mengyan's men immediately lobbed two hand grenades.

The grenades exploded inside the gate tunnel, filling it instantly with smoke and the sounds of wails and groans. The street devolved into chaos as pedestrians dove into shops and side alleys. Ye Mengyan knew his force was too small to linger. He quickly pasted two Fubo Army notices on the fence beside the gate. After affixing them, he didn't withdraw immediately but instead called out to the commoners hiding along the street, announcing that they were Fubo Army troops who had come only to warn the government—not to harm civilians—so there was no need for fear. Shopkeepers on both sides held their breath and listened, but none dared respond. Ye Mengyan then turned and withdrew.

Just then, SKS rifles cracked one after another; several militiamen on the gate tower who had been trying to nock arrows were cut down by the covering group before they could even draw their bowstrings.

After pulling back from East Gate Street, Ye Mengyan's squad marched several li before he ordered everyone to set up an ambush at a bend in the post road. Sure enough, within minutes, over a hundred militiamen and village braves came chasing after them, led by a mounted man wielding a long spear. They soon closed to within fifty meters.

Ye Mengyan tapped the marksman in his squad. "Shoot the one on the horse."

At the gunshot, the mounted leader toppled from his saddle. The surrounding braves fell into disarray. A volley of hand grenades from the squad exploded amid the densely packed pursuers, knocking down a swath of men. Those not killed or wounded turned and fled back toward the county seat. The team members positioned at the rear threw another salvo of grenades, inflicting further casualties. What remained of the enemy force collapsed entirely; abandoning the road, they scattered in every direction.

Having executed a textbook ambush and knowing the enemy wouldn't dare pursue again, Ye Mengyan ordered the leader's horse retrieved. His men urged him to ride, but he shook his head.

"I don't know how to ride..."

Privately, he thought that bringing a horse along would make further harassment operations impossible—but he couldn't bear to abandon it. The animal was a Mongolian horse, a rarity in these parts and far more impressive than the diminutive local ponies bred for orchard work.

Having made quite a scene at Qiongshan, that seemed enough for now. Better to retreat to Chengmai to rest for a few days before returning. With that thought, he gave the order:

"Bring the horse. We return to Chengmai first!"

His men quickly policed the battlefield. Ye Mengyan ordered the pursuing leader's head severed and hung from a roadside tree. One of his soldiers found a beautiful short sword on the body and presented it to him.

"Captain, this thing is gorgeous. You should keep it."

Ye Mengyan examined the short sword: a dark green leather sheath inlaid with filigree patterns of gold and silver, ancient in style, clearly no ordinary weapon.

"All captures go to the common pool. Turn it in." Ye Mengyan had no interest in so-called "divine weapons" of the cold steel variety—he simply thought it looked nice. He tossed it into his backpack and ordered everyone to pack up and withdraw immediately.

To avoid interception by Haikou Coastal Defense garrison troops, they left the main road and took a circuitous route. Within a few hours, they had retreated safely to You Laohu's camp beneath Chengmai's walls.

You Laohu's camp had grown into a substantial stockade. He had seven or eight hundred male and female laborers at his disposal. Under militia guard and engineering team supervision, they spent their days building fortifications and leveling roads.

You Laohu threw a banquet for Ye Mengyan in his headquarters.

His so-called headquarters was a temporary shed, though furnished quite comfortably inside—various chairs, even a large red mahogany bed. Clearly, all of it was loot from the big households in the countryside.

When he heard about Ye Mengyan's dramatic raid on Qiongshan's East Gate suburb, You Laohu grew visibly excited. He was a chaotic neutral type who loved stirring up trouble; such theatrical scenes fascinated him.

"Little Ye, you really showed off this time!" You Laohu slapped his thigh. "Things are much duller here. Just sticking our butts out, fixing roads and building stockades while staring down at a lousy county town all day." As he spoke, he instructed the company quartermaster to prepare food and provisions for Ye Mengyan's team.

Soon an impressive spread covered the table, centered on a large platter of spare ribs. Each rib glistened reddish-gold, fragrant and inviting—crispy on the outside, tender within, and intensely flavorful.

"The handiwork of a cook Old Yu captured." You Laohu gnawed one clean with astonishing speed and grabbed another. "His skill is superb."

Yu Zhiqian smiled. "Strictly speaking, we're violating discipline..."

"Discipline—" You Laohu started to say "screw discipline," but caught himself; he might get called out for it later. "Anyway, whether we send him to Lingao or keep him here, he's still a cook. I'm just using him first." He gestured at the ribs. "These are marinated with honey—crispy and sweet, a bit like Cantonese char siu but not quite. An endless aftertaste! When I get back, I absolutely have to make my aide-de-camp learn from this cook."

Besides the ribs, there were several plates of fresh vegetables and other dishes—everything but wine.

"The food is excellent. Where does it all come from?" Ye Mengyan wondered aloud. There was no way Logistics would be sending fresh vegetables and raw meat.

"Old Yu got it all from hitting the big households—chicken, duck, fish, meat, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, enough of everything!" You Laohu shook his head in mock regret. "There's actually plenty of wine too, but we can't drink it." He smacked his lips wistfully. "The vegetables and grain were all requisitioned from the various stockades. Since we broke a few and killed a bunch of people, every stockade in Chengmai is scared witless. They'd hand over their own wives if we asked."

"The meat hasn't been quarantined..."

"Don't eat it if you don't want to." You Laohu was already starting on his fourth rib. Seeing the ribs disappearing fast, Ye Mengyan hurriedly joined in the feast.

While the three men ate and drank, an orderly reported: the Planning Institute representative had arrived.

"Our good days are over." You Laohu shook his head. "Tell him to come in."

Naturally, Yu Zhiqian's campaign against the big households in Chengmai had attracted the Planning Institute's attention. To bring the captured materials and manpower properly into the system, Wu De dispatched a special search team led by a Planning Institute representative.

"Local use of spoils always ends in a messy accounting," Wu De had said seriously when issuing orders to the representative. "Right now, You Laohu's detachment is striking local tyrants around Chengmai and acquiring considerable wealth, grain, and manpower. Go there and register the spoils. Some grain and provisions can be allocated locally to the detachment, but the procedures must be sound."

(End of Chapter)