Chapter 1728: Surging Waves
If she could truly provide leads, it would indeed be a great merit for the Chief. Yet the matter was too incredible, and Guo Xi'er couldn't help but feel suspicious. She remembered that during training, the Senator teaching the safety classes had warned them to be wary of natives using various pretexts to approach the Chiefs—waiting for opportunities to assassinate them.
Seemingly reading Guo Xi'er's thoughts, the young lady of the Dong family said: "Don't be afraid, Miss. This servant is not the sort to risk her life as an assassin. If I were willing to die, I would have hanged myself already. Since I didn't want to die then, I certainly won't die now. If you're still worried, you may send a few capable maids to search this servant thoroughly."
Guo Xi'er thought to herself that this woman talked big. She didn't seem like an ordinary official's daughter. So she said: "Miss Dong, the Chief is occupied with a conversation at the moment. I will report to him when he is free."
The young girl curtsied again: "Thank you, Miss... You have a bodhisattva's heart... This servant is called Dong Mingdang. You may simply call me Mingdang from now on."
Liu Xiang talked with LĂĽ Yizhong for over an hour before the latter departed, satisfied. Regardless of whether the Senate would adopt his suggestions, their attitude toward him was clearly one of reliance. Under the rule of the Senate of the Great Song, his future would not be too bleak.
Liu Xiang felt far more conflicted. The gentry and traditional intellectuals were a critical issue they had to confront. Though the Senate granted almost complete authority in local administrative leadership—whether to him or Wen Desi—this didn't mean he could act entirely according to his own ideas. If something went wrong, it would truly be a case of the higher you climb, the harder you fall.
After seeing Lü Yizhong off, Liu Xiang's head felt muddled, so he stepped out for a walk. The courtyard was already bustling with activity. National Army soldiers were cleaning up—piles of rubbish and garbage were being cleared from various places. Planning Institute staff were checking and registering "useless" furniture and furnishings one by one, moving them to the treasury for temporary storage. Sanitation personnel carried large buckets of disinfectant. Naturalized citizen employees tore open packaging paper and hung wooden signs—black characters on white backgrounds—at the door of each room. Others were carrying in office furniture: desks, chairs, and bunk beds. The once solemn, almost suffocating Prefectural Yamen now hummed like a beehive, brimming with vitality and life.
Directing this organized chaos was Wang Sangou, Chief of General Affairs for the City Office. He wore a naturalized citizen uniform so new it looked blue. He was already over sixty—in the seventeenth century, this could be considered a long life. After emigrating from Baitu Village, he had changed his name: from "Gou" meaning "dog" to "Gou" meaning "surname." He was assigned odd jobs in the General Office—born a slave, harboring deep grievances, a lifelong bachelor with no children and no ties. Exactly the sort of person the General Office considered reliable.
After years of working in general affairs, Wang Sangou had always been single-minded and diligent. Compared to his days as a slave to the Lin family in Baitu Village, the General Office was paradise. He had no other ambitions—the General Office was his home. The more he worked, the more energetic he became, the younger he felt. Originally illiterate, he had even passed the Class C diploma examination. This Guangdong Strategy required a large number of cadres. Though Wang Sangou was getting on in years, he was still promoted to Deputy Chief of the General Affairs Section in the Guangzhou Municipal Government, specifically responsible for general affairs. At this moment, he beamed with joy, shouting and waving his hands. Seeing Liu Xiang emerge, he hurried over: "Chief! I've been waiting for you!"
Liu Xiang was puzzled: "What for?"
"Hanging the sign!" Wang Sangou said happily. "Our Great Song Senate has recovered Guangzhou. There must be proper ceremony when hanging up this sign!"
Liu Xiang thought: An unveiling ceremony? Just as the thought formed, Wang Sangou and the others surrounded him and guided him toward the Great Eight Characters Wall of the Prefectural Yamen. Many people had already gathered outside the yamen gate. National Army soldiers and naturalized citizen cadres all wore beaming expressions. Beyond the cordon, Guangzhou citizens gathered like clouds. The fear induced by the overnight regime change had dissipated under the calm, peaceful takeover. Now they were eager to see what these "long-renowned" "Australians" and "Hair-shorn bandits" actually looked like.
Speaking of live Australians in the city, everyone only knew that Shopkeeper Guo was one—but Shopkeeper Guo looked no different from the wealthy merchants and major households of the Great Ming. When Guangzhou was besieged, bold citizens had sneaked up the city walls to observe the "Great Song Navy" below, seeing only soldiers in gray and blue uniforms. Not a single actual "Real Hair-shorn" had been spotted.
Now, seeing a man surrounded by people emerge from the main gate—probably a Real Hair-shorn—the crowd studied him. He was only in his thirties, dark-skinned with a capable physique. He wore just a thick short jacket with front buttons. The style was no different from the surrounding "Fake Hair-shorn," though the material was stiffer. The crowd couldn't help but feel disappointed—this Great Song's uniform was really quite shabby.
How could Liu Xiang know the thoughts churning in the onlookers' minds? Wang Sangou asked him to say a few words. Liu Xiang hadn't prepared anything, but someone dragged over a packing crate for him to stand on. He surveyed the people before the gate and said loudly:
"Comrades! Citizens of Guangzhou! Today marks the establishment of our Senate's Guangzhou Special City Military Control Commission. From this day forward, Guangzhou—this city renowned for a thousand years—has returned to the hands of my Great Song and my Senate! We will work together to rebuild a prosperous, hygienic, and civilized New Guangzhou here, using this as the foundation to rebuild the Divine Land!"
As his voice fell, Wang Sangou lit a string of ten-thousand-count firecrackers. Amid the crackling, two naturalized citizens hung the wooden sign reading "Guangzhou Special City Municipal Government"—black characters on a white background—at the main gate. The naturalized citizens and National Army soldiers applauded together. Those naturalized citizens from Lingao were especially overcome with emotion. Wang Sangou was so delighted he could scarcely find words. He remembered that he had drifted alone all his life—no wife, no children, a solitary person. Only in his twilight years had he been taken in by the Senate and finally experienced what it meant to be treated as human. Now, watching the Senator stand before the Guangzhou Prefectural Yamen and hang up the sign, he burst into tears of excitement and raised his arms, shouting: "Long live the Senate!"
Following his cry, naturalized citizens and soldiers shouted together: "Long live the Senate!" Countless rifles with fixed bayonets rose high like a forest of steel.
The shouts of "Long live" rolled out from the center of Guangzhou like a tide, wave after wave, beating against the entire city.
In a residence elsewhere in the city, the roars—like mountains calling and seas answering—drifted faintly through the walls. Several men who had been feasting paused with wine cups suspended, listening intently to the blurred tumult. The courtyard fell still—dead quiet.
The cheers and shouts took a long time to fade into the air. A young man in his thirties sighed deeply: "I never expected this day to come! Gathering all the iron of the Nine Provinces cannot forge such a colossal mistake!"
His voice was anguished. Those beside him couldn't help but feel sorrowful.
Another man offered consolation: "Young Master Liang needn't blame himself. For the Hair-shorn bandits to reach this day, from the lords at court down to the officials in Guangdong—I fear no one can escape blame..."
The one who had spoken of "iron of the Nine Provinces" was Liang Cunhou. This young Juren from an aristocratic family had no interest in officialdom. Under the pretext of caring for his elderly parents, he traveled about all year, living a low-key, secretive, and luxurious life.
Liang Cunhou said: "That may be true, but when the Hair-shorn bandits first came to Guangzhou, I should never have been beguiled by them and actually become their accomplice! Otherwise, how could they have gained a foothold in Guangzhou? How could they have recruited so many refugees from this city to form an army?"
The man consoling him was Lin Zunxiu. He said: "Young Master Liang, the Hair-shorn bandits had that old traitor Gao Ju guiding them, and Gao Ju had Eunuch Yang as a backer. Even if you had seen through their true nature, what use would it have been? The world is full of people who forget righteousness for profit!"
Liang Cunhou remained silent, silently draining the wine in his cup. It didn't taste like the Hundred Flowers Spring of Ram City—it tasted like a cup of bitter gall.
Huang Bingkun, who sat nearby, couldn't help but interject: "The Hair-shorn bandits are not only masters at deceiving the world and stealing fame—they're also skilled at confusing hearts and playing with the common people as if they were toys. I fear it won't be long before Guangzhou becomes like Lingao—no longer the King's land of the Great Ming!"
Liang Cunhou said: "The Hair-shorn bandits have only entered Guangzhou City. I don't know about the other prefectures and counties..."
Lin Zunxiu shook his head: "How many troops can the prefectures and counties muster? The Hair-shorn bandits entered through the Great East Gate, and the Mobile Training Camp outside the city showed no reaction whatsoever. Presumably... presumably..."
Everyone understood what he left unsaid. The previous night, not a single cannon shot had been heard throughout all of Guangzhou, nor a single battle cry. When they woke, the flag on the city wall had already changed. Needless to say, the officers and soldiers had already surrendered.
"Not a single man among them!" Liang Cunhou shook his head in anguish.
"The Hair-shorn bandits have been operating in Guangzhou for years. The Great World is built just outside the Great East Gate—less than half an hour from the East Pass District! The terror from their Pearl River invasion still lingers. The officers and soldiers fear their sharp ships and cannons as if they were tigers." Lin Zunxiu sighed. "Even if the soldiers dared to fight, how many volleys could they withstand?"
Liang Cunhou fell into silence again. He realized Lin Zunxiu was right. The fighting will of the officers and soldiers wouldn't have changed the outcome of Guangzhou's fall. In fact, the Pearl River Battle had already revealed it: Guangzhou was simply a ripe fruit—the Hair-shorn bandits could pluck it whenever they wished.
"I wonder if Viceroy Xiong has noticed anything," Huang Bingkun said. "We should try to notify him to prepare."
"Viceroy Xiong prefers pacification above all else. Asking him to organize the army and prepare for war—I think it will be difficult." Liang Cunhou looked worried.
"Zhaoqing is a strategic pass for the two provinces, with dangerous terrain—it holds the geographical advantage of the Little Three Gorges. If preparations can be made early, the Hair-shorn bandits may not be able to break through. If Zhaoqing is not lost, Western Guangdong can be preserved, and there will still be room to retrieve the situation later." Lin Zunxiu spoke with fervor: "Eastern Guangdong still has the troops of the Nan'ao Vice General available. When soldiers are strong and provisions sufficient, they can coordinate from east and west to pincer the Hair-shorn bandits."
"Though I lack talent, I am willing to go to Zhaoqing to warn Viceroy Xiong!" Huang Bingkun declared resolutely.
There was no point in him staying here. If he had to continue compromising under Hair-shorn rule, he might as well have stayed in Lingao. Why had he even come?