Chapter 2235 - Acting County Magistrate
The drug-resistant-strain problem was reported directly to Minister Shi, causing a minor stir among the Guangzhou medical faction. Medical standards had not risen much, yet resistance problems were already appearing. Transmigrant medicine was beginning to show its unavoidable limitations—premature development.
"Pharmaceutical-chemistry capacity and clinical-diagnostic capacity are mismatched—of course problems will arise." Fu Liangqi studied the document in his hand, frowning. The penicillin production line wasn't yet operational—still in trial production—so there should be no rush. But if bacterial dysentery spread through the semi-pacified zone—or ballooned into a disaster like the Guangzhou plague incident—the medical people would have egg on their faces. Before setting out, they had pledged to "strangle the epidemic in the cradle."
To address the problem, the Ministry of Civil Affairs and Labor had issued an order to tap expired Holy Ship medications. Though "expired drugs" sounded alarming, these medications brought aboard the Holy Ship, even after expiring, were safer and more effective than the Council's own strange concoctions—which was why the expired stock hadn't been disposed of and still retained "controlled-material" status. But Holy Ship drugs couldn't fully solve the dysentery-bacillus resistance problem, and they couldn't be used liberally. Expired drugs were a common cause of resistant strains; unrestricted use would only make things worse.
"Actually, I don't think the situation is that grim." Song Junxing thought a moment. "Public-health doctrine is: prevention before treatment. Controlling dysentery can't just be about drugs—the key is stopping disease from entering the mouth. As long as we hold that line, dysentery is nothing to fear."
"It's not dysentery I'm afraid of..." Fu Liangqi was still worried. "It's the resistant-bacteria discovery that's so shocking. Any plans for the next few days?"
"Isn't the Cabinet coming to inspect? They say some big brains are coming. I hear it's not just President Shi—apparently Director General Wen and Chairman Wang are both coming..."
"What are they coming for?" This news caught Fu Liangqi off guard.
"To show they care. This inspection isn't just the medical sector—it's across the board." Song Junxing smiled. "And there's something else—I don't know if you've heard. They want to hold a 'Memorial for Martyrs of the Medical Front' during the inspection. Chairman Wang is going to speak. Heh—I bet he'll work in that passage..."
"Which one?"
"Need you ask? 'A person's ability may be great or small, but if he has this spirit, he is already noble-minded and pure, a man of moral integrity and above vulgar interests, a man who is of value to the people'..."
Fu Liangqi snorted but said nothing more.
"What's coming will come." Song Junxing refilled Fu Liangqi's kvass. "Doing our own jobs well is already pretty good."
"Let's hope so." Fu Liangqi's expression relaxed slightly. Gazing into the deepening night, he smiled and raised his glass. "To the Blue Banner—cheers."
"To the Council of Elders and the people." Song Junxing smiled too.
Luo Yiming was burning with anxiety. The fallout from the Dalang Market disaster was far worse than anticipated.
First, the human losses. The two National Army squadrons escorting Wang Chuyi to Dalang Market had been devastated. The provisional Yonghua Yao squadron, formed so recently, had completely disintegrated in the fighting—fewer than ten made it back to the county seat. The rest had been killed or scattered. The other squadron, though more than half returned, had many wounded and had lost all combat effectiveness.
This left Luo Yiming with only one squadron in the county seat, plus the Mountain Company temporarily attached—and since the operational plan couldn't be executed, it was unclear how long the Mountain Company would stay, and he had no command authority over it. Desperate, he sent an urgent message to Huang Chao, requesting a new county magistrate and a new squadron immediately.
The bigger problem was the severe damage to the county government's prestige. They had been gradually building credibility; order had begun to improve. The Dalang Market incident threw the county into chaos. Progress on collecting "reasonable contributions" ground to a halt. Bandits and riffraff who had gone into hiding were out making trouble again—some even near the county seat. Yangshan was on alert three times a day; Luo Yiming was run ragged.
The arrival of the Mobile Field Hospital, though coincidental, put him somewhat at ease. The hospital was escorted by a White Horse Squad platoon plus two gunboats—real combat power. With two Elders in the county seat, Huang Chao would surely dispatch reinforcements faster.
Huang Chao was nearly in tears when he received the urgent message. He had been mentally prepared for Wang Chuyi to stumble—if you were going to govern, you couldn't be hand-led by an Elder forever; making mistakes was understandable. But he never imagined Wang Chuyi would fail so catastrophically, nearly getting himself killed. Though he had escaped alive, Luo Yiming's letter said "the County Magistrate is gravely wounded; he has undergone amputation; recovery is uncertain." Huang Chao couldn't expect a dying naturalized cadre to run the county, much less lead bandit suppression and pacification.
Wang Chuyi's failure not only destabilized Yangshan but affected Huang Chao's pacification work across the Lianyang region. Before this, according to plan, he had distributed his forces at key transport nodes: the National Army Lianshan First Squadron garrisoned Lianshan County seat; the Lianshan Second Squadron was stationed at Chengshan's old city, watching the road south from the Eight Ranks Yao; in Lianzhou, the First Squadron held the prefectural city while two squadrons held Luming Pass, controlling the Yao's eastward and northward routes; in Yangshan, one squadron was stationed at Yonghua township to watch the Yao's southeastern route, and one held the county seat.
Under this deployment, Huang Chao's main forces were tied down guarding roads and blockading the Yao region. Historically, the Ming court had dealt with Yao uprisings this way, to good effect.
As long as they tightly controlled the roads from the Yao region to the outside, they could at minimum maintain order in each prefecture and county. Once order was restored, political, cultural, and economic measures could follow—a gradual approach. Huang Chao didn't claim this would solve Guangdong's Yao troubles forever, but at least it was a good start. So he wasn't too worried about his lack of mobile reserves.
Now, thanks to Wang Chuyi's failure, the Yonghua squadron watching the Eight Ranks Yao's southeastern road was gone. The Yonghua Yao, who had just settled down, might waver. After Sun Dabiao burned Dalang Market, the road from Yonghua into the Yangshan Han district was wide open. If the Eight Ranks Yao joined with the Yonghua Yao, Luo Yiming had no answer but to hold the county seat.
To stabilize Yangshan, the Mountain Company—originally scheduled for only a week's attachment—had to stay on, helping Luo Yiming restore order. For mobile reserves already stretched thin, this was a major loss. Huang Chao estimated that once word spread, the Eight Ranks Yao would almost certainly make a move. He had to stamp out this fire fast—otherwise, if unrest spread, the consequences would be unthinkable.
His thought: first, send a new county magistrate to Yangshan to steady things. Second, launch an immediate bandit-suppression campaign in Yangshan to wipe out these bandits quickly—a warning to every faction in the Lianyang region.
But he had no bench of civilian cadres. County-level naturalized officials were already in short supply; filling vacancies was tough enough, and an emergency replacement was even harder.
After much thought, Huang Chao called Bi Da into his office.
"I am now appointing you Acting County Magistrate of Yangshan. Pack up and take up your post immediately!"
Bi Da was stunned. "Elder, I... I'm not educated..."
Bi Da didn't like studying. Her academic performance had always been poor; despite priority cultivation, she had attained only basic literacy and earned a Grade C diploma. Her reports were riddled with wrong characters—Huang Chao spent half his time correcting her spelling whenever he read one. But her social-work performance was outstanding; her organizational and mobilizing skills were just as good. She had participated in numerous grassroots work-team missions opening new territories and had held village- and township-level positions in Taiwan and Jeju. She had local-administration experience. Her greatest strength was her loyalty to the Council of Elders and her tenacious work ethic.
As a county magistrate, Bi Da's abilities weren't quite up to the mark. But to clean up a mess—she might be able to manage.
If even she can't do it, I'll have to go to Yangshan myself. Huang Chao felt his head swelling. He hoped the girl could pull it off.
"Don't worry. This has nothing to do with whether you're educated." Huang Chao briefly described the Yangshan situation. "Wang Chuyi is now critically wounded and unable to work. The National Army in Yangshan has suffered heavy losses; morale is shaky. Go there immediately and stabilize Yangshan. I've ordered Zhen Huan to keep the Mountain Company in Yangshan for now to help you steady things."
Bi Da was silent for a moment, then asked, "Since the Elder wants me to go, I'll go! But once I'm in Yangshan, what should I do?"
"First, calm people down and restore our presence in Yangshan. Armed patrols and the collection of reasonable contributions must continue. Second, rebuild the armed forces. We don't have time to send you reinforcements—you'll have to reconstitute the units locally. In particular, restore control of Yonghua as soon as possible."
Unlike those cadres who pulled out a notebook to jot down key points whenever a leader spoke, Bi Da counted off each task on a finger. Ten fingers full, ten tasks memorized. She ran through her fingers again and could repeat the original words verbatim.
When Huang Chao first witnessed her finger-memory trick, he was amazed. He tested her several times; each time, she was spot-on. But he had a lingering question: what would she do if the list exceeded ten items?
(End of Chapter)