Lin Gao Qiming

Chapter 1704 The 4th Battalion

Since the construction of Guangzhou World, one or two paddle steamer tugboats have been dragging a long row of barges from Hong Kong every day, entering the Pearl River Estuary, and going up the river to the city of Guangzhou.

The boat with the rotating water wheel and the black smoke and steam bulging was conspicuous enough on the Pearl River. It can also drag a group of boats upstream, which is an unprecedented diorama for the people along the river.

So every day, some people waited and squatted at the place closest to the waterway, waiting for the tugboat team to pass by, and some people felt that they couldn't see it clearly from the shore, so they took a small boat and waited on the river.In addition, because the boat was too close, it was "sinked" by the waves set off by the tugboat team, and the spectators were killed.

Most of the upward barges are loaded with construction materials. These barges are covered with tarpaulins and have their hulls pressed down. There are not only steel bars, cement and glass produced by Linggao, but also sand and gravel bricks prepared from various places. Tile and lime.

In addition to these bulky bulk cargoes, there are also "Australian cargoes" that are carefully packed with straw ropes and wooden boxes, making everyone jealous. These cargoes are unloaded at the Great World Wharf.The ships are then reloaded with the various cargoes that are already in dock stacks and warehouses.The goods purchased by Australians from Guangzhou, from the entire Guangzhou prefecture and even the whole of Guangdong, are boarded here and transported downstream to Hong Kong.There they were transferred to large ships heading in different directions.

Nowadays, most people’s freshness is over. Although the fleet shuttles more frequently and the goods are more and more diverse, the aborigines in Guangzhou are spraying billowing black smoke to the Australians, and they can hear it outside the north gate of Guangzhou. The huge roar, the "fire steamer" that can go against the wind and the current is no surprise.If someone ran to watch excitedly, it must be a newcomer to the local area.

It's the end of the new year, the market is deserted, and people who are in a hurry are not interested in watching the excitement. The New Year's firecrackers and gunpowder smoke are everywhere in this evening, except for those fishermen who eat every day and those who are curiously chasing every ship. Except for the children, no one cared about the arrival of another fleet on the Pearl River.

In the past few months, it is said that because of the upcoming opening of Guangzhou World, there are more than a dozen tugboats coming from Hong Kong every day, which are full of various equipment and materials used by the World.So at this moment, the arrival of this fleet did not attract many people's attention.

The fleet consists of three tugboats.Behind each tugboat was towed six or seven solid barges covered with tarpaulins.However, the brisk traveling speed and the not-so-deep draft showed that these ships were not loaded with heavy cargo.

Guangzhou Great World, which has completed investment promotion years ago, has announced that it will suspend work for three days during the Chinese New Year. It is said that it is preparing for the official opening after the Chinese New Year.All local employees, including dock workers, are given three days off.After the employees received their wages and gifts for the New Year, they all went home happily to celebrate the New Year.

So at the moment there is not a single dock worker on the Great World Wharf.It doesn't seem to worry about how to unload without dock workers.The barge fleet approached the pier unhurriedly one by one.Amidst the low and depressing cries, the cabin doors opened one by one, revealing the unusual cargo this time—the cabin was full of groups of heavily armed soldiers.The orders in a low voice were passed on layer by layer, and the soldiers filed out one by one, stepped on the steps between the boats, walked up the trestle bridge, and then walked to the dock in an orderly manner.

At this time, there were already people waiting at the pier.Although there were only a few people, the insiders knew that this was considered the highest standard of local reception: all the veterans and senior naturalized cadres from Guangdong were present, and there was not a single local aborigine.

"It's fucking cold here." Wang Ruixiang tightened his woolen coat and helped the dog fur hat on his head. After confirming his image, he walked off the boat leisurely with his head held high.

In fact, Wang Ruixiang does not have a military position. Although he has been close to the army for a long time and has engaged in some weapons research and development projects, his job is in the mechanical department. However, his naturally active personality makes him often sent abroad.This time he came to Guangzhou with the South China Army, under the title of "Director of Machinery".As the name suggests, he is the chief engineer of the Senate in Guangdong.From the boiler of the battleship to the bayonet stuck on the minigun, as long as the naturalized technicians cannot solve the problem, he will be responsible for it.He is also responsible for supervising the installation and maintenance of all kinds of mechanical equipment that will be sent to Guangdong.In short, this is a heavy and trivial work.

But Wang Ruixiang was very satisfied with this appointment.He is not a person who likes comfort.

The queue of soldiers, led by the naturalized staff, has begun to enter the storage area behind the pier.The storage area is a large yard surrounded by brick houses with a circumference of hundreds of meters, which is suitable for the army to station.The military-civilian dual-use storage area of ​​Great World is designed to be able to station at least two full-staffed infantry battalions and several companies of artillery, engineers and supply troops.

At this time, it was Guo Yi who was watching the army enter at the gate of the storage area.The first to arrive was the Army's 4th Battalion.This is a unit originally stationed in Hong Kong. Because it has been stationed in Hong Kong for a long time, it is very familiar with the local customs and customs. Most soldiers can understand Cantonese even if they don't speak it.In recent years, the officers of the 4th Battalion have conducted extensive staff trips in the Pearl River Delta region under the guidance of the Foreign Intelligence Service, collected a large amount of information, and conducted battalion and company-level combat exercises in many coastal locations.It is the battalion that is most fully prepared for the battle against Guangdong. It is not surprising that this battalion will play the forward.

As the earliest battalion-level force established by the Senate, it was well equipped and trained.Just marching in such a heavily armed formation, the momentum is already aggressive.

Guo Yi lit the match. Because of the cold weather, he was a little nervous. The match had to be rubbed several times before it was wiped. He lit the cigar and took a deep breath.

As the top person in charge of Guangdong, Guo Yi has been busy for several months preparing for the entry of troops.In addition to helping the joint logistics department with logistics support, he also needs to collect and sort out basic information such as the social conditions, customs and geography of Guangzhou and surrounding areas.

In Guangdong, there will not be much suspense in the military, the key is how to govern.This is the biggest problem.

Guo Yi looked at his cigar butt, the river wind was very strong, blowing on him chilly.

I finally don't have to carry this burden anymore.He heard from his friends in the Guanglei family in Lingao that his next appointment is likely to be the magistrate of a certain county in Hainan, in order to prepare for his next appointment as a senior local official.It is said that the next target of the Senate is likely to be Jiangnan.

Jiangnan is the largest wealth center in Ming Dynasty, with a large population and well-developed industry and commerce.Once such a place is settled, veterans who are familiar with the city and economic life of Ming Dynasty must be sent to preside over the situation.

Wang Ruixiang came forward with the marching army, but saw Guo Yi standing alone by the gate, looking at the marching army in a daze, not knowing what he was thinking, so he went to say hello.

"Have all of them gone in?"

"Well, they've all gone in. You're the only one left." Guo Yi glanced back, "There are quite a few people here this time."

"That's right. A whole battalion will come today and tomorrow. There are more than 1000 people." Wang Ruixiang stepped into the gate, "Look at their outfits. The new military uniforms are unique. They are like this in the north. I am in the north." I also took thousands of people at a time, er, of course they were all very weak refugees, thirty cavalrymen with knives could chop up thousands of refugees. But..." He turned around and straightened The button on the front, "Now they are all warriors under the Senate." Wang Ruixiang waved his hands exaggeratedly, and raised his head to the sky that is about to fall: "In a few years, we can take the whole of Guangdong, no matter who The poor and the rich, the big and the small, the good and the evil, swallow them all in one gulp! This place will soon become our territory!"

The "government" of the Great World--the word used by the elders to refer to the part of the backyard that the natives of the Great World cannot enter--has already prepared everything for the troops.

On the main tower in the backyard, a sumptuous banquet has already been set up.All the elders of Guangzhou Station and all the elders currently in Guangzhou attended the banquet, and many of them have not seen for many years.When Wang Ruixiang saw Lin Baiguang, he only showed up at the general meeting, and there was no one in Lingao at all.

No one knew what Lin Baiguang was busy with, but judging from his attire and hair bun, he was probably active in Daming, either doing business in Daming or engaged in some secret work.

Lin Baiguang has traveled all over Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian in recent years.During the period, I also visited Jiangnan and Shandong.It is said that he has done intelligence collection work, but his intelligence collection work is different, focusing on roads, people's livelihood, products, customs and other social and economic life in various places.Provide the Senate with a reference for future governance.

In his spare time, he repeatedly read Huang Zongxi's "The Book of Lies and Diseases of the World, Commanderies and Countries" and various "Guidebooks for Being an Official" published by the Great Library in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the most important of which is naturally "Fu Hui Quan Shu" .Combined with his experience when he was the director of the county office, he wrote the "County Government Policy Outline", which has been selected by the Senate as one of the teaching materials for the cadre training class.

Lin Baiguang had already received the appointment at this time, and he was about to serve as the deputy director of the Military Control Commission, presiding over the daily work of the Guangdong Military Control Commission.He has already made a plan in his heart, and the focus is on the 15 counties and 1 state of Guangzhou Prefecture.The first step in annexing Guangdong is the Pearl River Delta region, and Guangzhou Prefecture almost completely covers the entire Pearl River Delta.Only by eating and digesting this place can it become a base for annexing the whole province.The weight of his responsibility and the magnitude of the challenges he faces make Lin Baiguang eager to try.

(End of this chapter)