Chapter 2073 - Foshan

Currently, neither Guangzhou proper nor the subordinate counties and towns had established governmental organs. The National Army company stationed here bore the multiple burdens of government, police, and garrison—placing considerable demands on its commander's capabilities.

Foshan was no ordinary place. It was designated as a logistics base. Xi Yazhou could not afford to have someone of insufficient ability commanding the garrison.

"The dock and town areas here are relatively quiet," Cao Qing said, shaking his head. "But outside the town perimeter, it's a different story. Our main force just arrived, and people's hearts are unsettled. Many rural thugs and riffraff have come out to loot. Just a few days ago, someone robbed a boat right by the dock. The common folk are frightened. The shops only open for an hour or two at midday."

"Are the workshops still operating?" This was Xi Yazhou's main concern.

"Reporting, General: the copper and iron smelting furnaces haven't been extinguished, but they haven't been fired in days." Cao Qing explained that the workshop owners were hiding at home, afraid to venture out lest they be kidnapped by rural "big second sons"—local gangsters. The craftsmen had no work and were struggling to survive. The major households had pooled funds to buy grain and distribute it daily to the unemployed workers. Only this had prevented riots.

Xi Yazhou asked him several more questions about local conditions and the National Army's defensive deployments. Cao Qing's answers were orderly and well thought out, and Xi Yazhou felt reasonably satisfied.

"I didn't expect a Shandong man to know so much about the local situation."

"Reporting, General: there's a Comrade Lin here, currently serving as town liaison. He's been a great help in my work."

"Oh? Comrade Lin?" Xi Yazhou thought to himself that ordinary "collaborators" would not be addressed as "comrade" by naturalized citizens. They could clearly distinguish insiders from outsiders, friend from foe. They would never carelessly apply this term—which signified "one of us"—to a local helper.

Could he be "underground party"? Xi Yazhou didn't know much about the External Affairs Bureau's operations, but he knew they maintained an extensive intelligence network in Guangdong, especially in the Pearl River Delta.

"Take me to meet him."

"He's at our command post right now. I'll take you there immediately."

Xi Yazhou examined the defensive facilities along the way. Though Foshan was commercially prosperous, it had no city walls—only a wooden palisade encircling it, with waterways surrounding the town. Absent major upheaval, this level of defense was adequate.

The Octopus was moored at the dock on the Fen River, on the town's north side. Originally, Foshan's earliest development had been in the Zhaxia area to the south, but by the Ming dynasty the waterways through Zhaxia had grown increasingly narrow and silted. The Datang Channel had even become dry land, affecting commercial activity. Shops gradually separated from workshops and migrated northward. During the Yuan and Ming periods, the Fen River banks and sandbanks that had once been "seaside" wastelands saw houses and shops constructed in earnest. The commercial district shifted entirely to the north. By late Ming, the northern Fen River banks and their vicinity had become Foshan's most prosperous commercial zone, with docks lined up in neat rows and shops standing shoulder to shoulder. Though the streets were now quiet, the common folk showed no panic, instead craning their necks to watch the spectacle of the Australian procession.

They entered the town and had not walked far before reaching the Huguang Guild Hall. The National Army command post was established here. Xi Yazhou noted that guards were posted strictly at the entrance. Inside, everything was arranged in perfect order. He was secretly impressed—who would have thought a mere naturalized corporal could possess such organizational ability? This man was being wasted as a National Army company commander.

The main hall had been converted into a command center, with a large-scale map of Foshan hanging prominently in the middle. Xi Yazhou sat down casually. Before long, a man in his thirties entered, dressed in Ming-era attire. He bowed respectfully:

"Your humble servant Lin Ming, paying respects to the General..."

This peculiar hybrid of address made Xi Yazhou burst out laughing. He rose and extended his hand. "So you're the liaison? Lieutenant Cao speaks highly of you."

"Serving the Council of Elders and the people!" Lin Ming recognized this as the Australians' "handshake ceremony" and quickly extended his own hand, adding a fluent slogan for good measure.

After accompanying Thorpe on his inspection tour of the West River region, Lin Ming had continued his intelligence-gathering work in Foshan. The External Affairs Bureau's assignment was to collect local social and political information. From the directive documents sent from "Central," Lin Ming had come to understand the Council's high regard for Foshan—though this was hardly surprising. Foshan was one of the "Four Great Settlements Under Heaven," comparable to major cities of its era, and the Council's designs on Guangdong were no secret to him.

He had thrown himself busily into working for the Council. One day in March, he received new instructions from his courier as usual—this time: "Main forces landing; prepare for reception." Following orders, Lin Ming emerged from underground to public work, assuming the position of Deputy Mayor of Foshan Town, officially working for the Council of Elders. However, until the governmental organs were formally established, he would first publicly operate as the Foshan Town Liaison, temporarily retaining his queue and traditional attire.

This place was only fifty-odd li from Guangzhou, so on the very first day of landing, a Fubo Army advance detachment had arrived by boat directly at Foshan Fort.

The town itself had no Ming garrison. Though the town and surrounding countryside had local militia and village defense forces, these existed for "protecting home"—and since the Australians arrived and disturbed nothing, the powerful households who actually controlled the militias naturally felt no need to "defend the nation." After brief negotiations, Foshan Fort opened its gates and surrendered. Lin Ming, the former Embroidered Guard baihu, was instantly transformed into "Deputy Mayor."

"Since you're a local and an official we've appointed, please lead the way and show me around. Introduce the local situation as we go."

"Yes, yes—your humble servant is happy to oblige!" Lin Ming hastened to reply.

The first place he led them to was naturally the Lingying Shrine—what locals called the Ancestral Temple. When the temple was originally built could no longer be determined with certainty, though it was generally thought to date from the Northern Song. At that time, Central Plains folk migrating south to Guangdong had settled here and formed a community.

"The temple was rebuilt in the fifth year of Hongwu, and has been renovated several times since," Lin Ming said. "Inside is enshrined the Northern Emperor deity—the northern water god. According to old tradition, this area suffered many floods during the Tang and Song dynasties, so the locals invited the Northern Emperor to sit in Foshan. Since then, this region has never had severe floods again. People come to the Ancestral Temple to pray for favorable weather and national peace."

Though Lin Ming's family had not originally been natives of "Foshan Fort's Eight Villages," they had lived here for a hundred years, and he was quite attached to this temple regarded as Foshan's very root. From the outset, he had strenuously opposed the National Army company using it as headquarters.

Before the Ancestral Temple stood the famous Lingying Arch—three-story, three-tier, imposing and majestic. Elaborate brackets were lavishly deployed between the eaves-pillars. The flying eaves stacked emerald-green, soaring toward the clouds. On the front top tier, a vertical plaque bore the characters "Imperial Edict." The lower tier bore horizontal inscriptions: "Sacred Domain" and "Divine Response." On the back, the top tier carried a vertical "Imperial Sacrifice" plaque. Vermilion wooden structures set off gilded characters, complemented by green glazed-tile roofing. The entire archway was resplendent and impressive, dignified yet structurally extremely sturdy. This was the first time Xi Yazhou had seen such archway architecture in either Hainan or Guangdong.

Lin Ming explained that the archway had been built during the Jingtai reign, because the Jingtai Emperor had conferred upon the Ancestral Temple the title "Lingying Shrine." Hence the archway's construction was especially meticulous.

Before the archway lay a pond called the Brocade Fragrance Pool, with a stone carving of a tortoise and snake—symbols of the Northern Emperor—rising from the water. Xi Yazhou noticed copper coins scattered on the sculpture and, apparently, at the bottom of the pool as well. Clearly, the custom of tossing coins for good fortune had ancient origins.

This also revealed how wealthy and peaceful the locality was—only in such tranquil times could people afford such leisurely pastimes.

Beyond the archway stood the Triple Gate, a remarkably elaborate structure. Nine bays wide, with a ceramic sculptural ridge over one meter high and thirty meters long at the peak, gilded woodcarvings beneath the eaves, red sandstone walls pierced by three circular archways each one meter deep, stone steps below—the entire building was magnificent and imposing, a monument to local pride and prosperity.

The temple caretaker, hearing that a high Australian official had arrived, hurried out to welcome him, inviting him to offer incense in the hall, then "serve tea" in a quiet chamber.

"I appreciate the thought, but I'm on official business and won't impose." Xi Yazhou was quite polite.

Leaving the temple and walking a short distance, they came upon another wooden-and-stone memorial arch. Though not as grand as the Lingying Arch, it too bore a vertical "Imperial Edict" plaque, with "Zhongyi Township"—"Township of Loyalty and Righteousness"—inscribed horizontally below. Lin Ming explained that during the Zhengtong reign, the pirate Huang Xiaoyang had mustered ten thousand men to attack Foshan Fort. The local gentry and wealthy households had organized militia, erected palisades, and defeated Huang Xiaoyang. This imperial title was conferred in recognition of their resistance.

(End of Chapter)