Chapter 47: Lingnan's Extraordinary Events

  Two steam cargo ships slowly docked at the Dongguan Baishi Beach Wharf, one after another. At present, the Baishi Beach Wharf has taken shape and can easily berth thousands of tons of cargo ships. It can berth at least 5 cargo ships with a tonnage of over 1,000 tons at a time. The "Po Lang" cargo ship and the "Bi Bo" cargo ship were safely docked under the command of Captain Chen Lao Da and Captain Chen Gen Sheng.

  "Master Kuang, Master Li, we've arrived at the shore. Look, the people who came to meet us are here on the dock. I'll introduce you after we disembark!" Captain Chen said with courtesy. "Captain Chen took good care of us all along the way, thank you so much!" "No need for thanks, Master Kuang! I won't be polite about it, Master Li will surely repay me another day!" "You two gentlemen are too courteous, please!" Under Captain Chen's guidance, the group began to disembark.

  Pai Gejin, Qin Fan, Wang Xia'er and others were waiting quietly at the dock. The docks along the river had already formed a large industrial area, with the matches factory, glass factory and other workshops taking shape. Under Qin Fan's planning, many related workshops were set up, basically forming an industrial zone. With this pulling force, businessmen and entrepreneurs with vision also set up factories nearby, and the function of Baishi Tan dock was gradually brought into play.

  "Hey! Old Chen, we've switched to steam cargo ships, and bird guns have been replaced with cannons!" Pei Gejian shouted loudly at the sight of Chen's delighted appearance. "What's this? Two months later, we can add two more steam cargo ships. Mr. Deng said that by the end of next year, we will form a fleet of 10 steam cargo ships. That's what I call impressive!"

  "Mr. Deng is truly a business genius! It's unbelievable, I'm so lucky to be part of the Deng Group, it's heaven's blessing!" Qin Fan exclaimed in admiration. "Old Chen, how's Mr. Deng doing? How are the other brothers doing? Time flies, it's been 5 years already, I really miss them!" Wang Xiao'er chimed in from the side.

  "These two are......?" Pei Gejin couldn't help but ask when he saw the two white-faced scholars standing behind Old Chen. "Brother Pei, this is Mr. Deng's letter!" After reading the letter, Pei Gejin hastily stepped forward and politely said: "The two gentlemen have been too polite, please forgive me!" "I am Kuai Zhizhi, at your service, Mr. Pei!" "I am Li Tong, at your service, Mr. Pei!" Both sides exchanged pleasantries and introduced each other in a lively manner.

  Then Wang Xiao'er led the guests to Guangzhou City first, and Pei Gejin and Qin Fan stayed behind to hand over to Chen Lao Da. The silk, tea leaves and other goods transported by the cargo ship were handed over to Qin Fan, who was now mainly engaged in wholesale business in his commercial field, while retail business in shops became secondary.

  The two men inspected the goods and, after settling in the people who had arrived with the ship, entered a living room inside a elegant courtyard near the dock. Perhaps out of habit, they both simultaneously pulled out the confidential letter brought by Old Chen to take a look. After finishing reading the letter, Qin Fan said: "Brother Pei, Mr. Deng's letter says that Li Tong is serving as the magistrate of Dingming County in Guangxi, and asks me to fully assist him. It just so happens that I want to open up trade in Guangxi, so let's take this opportunity to open up a shipping route to Beihai and expand our trade into northern Vietnam. With Lord Li serving as magistrate in Dingming, our next step will be to deepen our trade in the northern part of Vietnam."

  "Mr. Deng's strategy is simply unimaginable and unfathomable. Brother Qin, the Guangxi side will be handed over to you. This Mr. Kuang wants to take office as the magistrate of Changjiang County in Hainan, and Mr. Deng asked me to lend a helping hand. There are iron ore deposits in Changjiang County, Hainan Island, and Dongguan plans to build an iron smelting plant soon, with iron ore to be transported directly from Hainan. Moreover, the land on Hainan Island is fertile, and Mr. Deng asked us to vigorously plan and establish a manor, and later Mr. Deng will recruit migrants from the Central Plains to open up large tracts of land."

  "This time the cargo ship brought a lot of pig iron and coal, and also two steam engines and acid-making equipment. Mr. Deng said he wants to set up an acid factory. Our factory building and personnel are already available, and next month foreign technicians will come to install the equipment. Mr. Deng asked us to prepare raw materials. I have to accompany Governor Kuang to take office on Hainan Island, so I'll leave family matters to you for now!"

  Next, Pei Gejin personally accompanied Kuang Jiazhi and Li Tong to meet the Governor of Guangdong with gifts. In recent years, Pei Gejin had been in frequent contact with the Governor and had a good private relationship with him. The gifts were all rare items, and with Pei Gejin's face, the Governor agreed to see them. The details of the meeting are not necessary to describe, but with one word from the Governor, Kuang Jiazhi and Li Tong's appointment procedures went smoothly. Pei Gejin personally accompanied Kuang Jiazhi to Hainan Island, while Wang Xia'er accompanied Li Tong by land to Guangxi.

  The sailboat sailed in the South China Sea, which is warm and picturesque. This time, following Pei Gejian to Hainan Island were: 10 bodyguards assigned to Kuang Jiazhong, 10 mining personnel, and another 20 business and estate management personnel. In recent years, Qin Fan and Pei Gejian have recruited a large number of people according to Deng Zixuan's instructions to prepare for emergencies.

  At this time, Kuang Jia-zhi and Pei Ge-jian stood at the bow of the boat, gazing out to the depths of the ocean. The sea breeze gently caressed them, making them feel extremely comfortable. "Mr. Pei, coming to Guangzhou has given me a deeper understanding of Mr. Deng's business scale. I didn't expect his trade to be so widespread in Lingnan, especially Mr. Deng's connections in official circles are impressive." Kuang Jia-zhi exclaimed with emotion.

  "Yes! Mr. Deng is a genius of our time, and we are honored to follow him. Governor Kuang, the governor has already made arrangements for you on Hainan Island, so you don't have to worry about anything and can do your job with confidence." "Mr. Deng has thought this through thoroughly, I won't let him down!" "Governor Kuang, Mr. Deng's ambitions are surely clear to you, I hope you won't hold back!" "Don't worry, Mr. Pei, I have everything under control." Seeing Governor Kuang's determined face, a weight was lifted off Pei Gejian's mind.

  The sailboat made a brief stop at the Zhanjiang dock and then crossed the Qiongzhou Strait to Hainan Island. Hainan Island is also known as Qiongzhou, with 13 counties under the jurisdiction of the Haikou Prefecture. This administrative level has been continued since the Ming Dynasty, with no major changes in the Qing Dynasty. Perhaps due to war or perhaps because Hainan Island has suitable soil for survival, people from coastal provinces in southern China have been migrating to Hainan Island continuously. Currently, the population of Hainan Island has developed to over 20 million people. Qiongzhou is a place with outstanding talents, and Hai Rui, a famous Qing official, was also from Hainan Island.

  Since the establishment of Qiongzhou Prefecture in Hainan Island, successive dynasties have selected local people as officials. On the one hand, it is to stabilize the local people's hearts, and on the other hand, it is also to let officials feel at ease in governing, while stabilizing the border areas. Kuang Jiazhi's appointment broke the precedent of outsiders coming to Hainan Island as officials for the first time. Deng Zixuan considered this point, so he had to take the upper route and obtain the governor-general's edict, otherwise, the prefect of Qiongzhou would not be difficult to deal with. Otherwise, Kuang Jiazhi would not be able to stand firm on Hainan Island, and even roll up his bedding and leave. It is worth noting that the localism concept of Chinese people is very serious, and local forces are intertwined, especially in places like Hainan Island.

  Deng Zixuan not only wanted to let Kuang Jiazhi stand firm on Hainan Island, but also to achieve results. A few years later, Deng Zixuan would support him in becoming the governor of Qiongzhou, and then he would firmly grasp Hainan Island in his hands, which was an important part of Deng Zixuan's plan. The Leizhou Peninsula and Hainan Island are separated by the Qiongzhou Strait, with a distance of about 20 kilometers. When the Haikou dock appeared in sight, Kuang Jiazhi became visibly excited.

  "Magistrate Kuang, look at this Haikou and Guangzhou, it's simply incomparable, it can be said to be a poor and remote place!" Pei Gejin stood at the bow of the boat and couldn't help but sigh. "Brother Pei! To be frank, my age is already quite old to take on the role of county magistrate, I am very content with myself. And all this is entirely due to Mr. Deng's efforts, I became a county official in my thirties, which is not common since the Qing dynasty, do you think I have the qualifications to be arrogant?" Kuang Jiazhi felt a mix of emotions in his heart, perhaps on the way to taking office, he had a lot on his mind, and even more so felt Deng Zixuan's extraordinary abilities.

  Pei Ge smiled and said: "Magistrate Kuang is speaking from the heart, but I've heard that officials in Qingzhou are all locals, they will definitely ostracize outsiders. You can't be too soft-hearted, you have to let them see your abilities. Even a low-ranking official like me can take their lives, when you meet with the Prefect, you must be tough and not let him look down on you!" "Brother Pei, rest assured I know what to do!"

  The sailboat docked at a desolate wharf, everything looked bleak. A group of people disembarked, fortunately there were two carriages with canopies on the wharf, Kuang Jia-zhi and his family got into one carriage, Pei Ge-jin and others got into another carriage. After loading the gifts onto the carriages, Pei Ge-jin ordered ten bodyguards to get in, while others stayed at the wharf unloading cargo and waiting for news.

  Two horse-drawn carriages stopped in front of the county governor's mansion. Pei Ge carefully observed the county governor's mansion, feeling that it was quite shabby. At this moment, Kuang Jiazhong handed over his name card to a somewhat dazed gatekeeper. Meanwhile, the Governor of Qiongzhou was lying on his bed in the back hall with his eyes closed, cultivating his spirit. He was a short and stout man with a round face, a sparse white braid, and appeared to be around 60 years old.

  "Sir! The county magistrate from Qiongshan, Beijing has arrived!" A sharp-nosed and bearded teacher hastily walked in to report. The governor lazily got up, yawned a few times, took the name card and checked it. "Sir! This time the county magistrate is not quite following the rules, he's an outsider from another province!" The teacher carefully accompanied him. The governor casually threw the name card aside and said: "Let him wait outside!" After finishing speaking, he lay down again to rest his mind.

  An hour passed, and everyone showed anxious expressions, but Kuang Jiazheng remained calm and composed, waiting quietly. Pei Gejian couldn't help but think: "As expected, now they're starting to make things difficult. This won't do, I must provoke him." Having made up his mind, Pei Gejian shouted at the bailiff: "What's so special about a broken prefecture? What's there to be proud of? You're still supposed to treat guests with courtesy, let alone us who are officials appointed by the imperial court."

  Two gatekeepers were about to get angry, but when they saw a group of burly men standing behind Pei Ge, their eyes gleaming with ferocity, they were so frightened that they hastily retreated to report. The prefect listened to the gatekeeper's panicked report and suddenly became enraged: "Change clothes, ascend the hall!" This move was indeed effective, and soon Kuai Jiazhi was summoned into the great hall. "Your humble servant greets the Prefect!" Kuai Jiazhi slightly bowed his head but did not kneel. "How dare you, a minor county magistrate, insult this official? Men, take him away!" Instantly several gatekeepers swarmed forward.

  "Halt!" Kuang Jia-zhi waved his hand to stop him, then calmly pulled out a letter from his bosom and said: "Prefect sir, I have a letter here from the Governor-General, please take a look!" The prefect was taken aback upon hearing this, immediately waving his hand for the yamen runners to retreat. The teacher quickly took the letter and handed it over to him. After reading halfway through, Prefect's forehead began to sweat, knowing that the visitor did not come with good intentions. This guy's eyes rolled around and suddenly put on a smiling face.

  "Haha! Misunderstanding! Misunderstanding! I thought you were here to cause trouble, please come with me to the back hall for a chat!" "I'm deeply sorry, please forgive me, Your Excellency!" Kuang Jiazhi took advantage of the situation. "No need to apologize! No need to apologize! I didn't expect County Magistrate Kuang to be so young, our Great Qing Dynasty is indeed full of talented people!" As they entered the back hall, Kuang Jiazhi ordered the gifts to be brought in, and Pei Ge carefully directed the servants to bring in the gifts with a rustling sound.

  The governor was surprised and apprehensive when he saw a group of burly men and precious gifts, and became even more convinced that Kuang Jia-zhi's background was unfathomable. There was one thing that the governor couldn't figure out: since this young county magistrate had such a powerful backing, why did he come to serve in this remote place like Qiongzhou? Why didn't he choose a more lucrative position? The governor thought about it but didn't dare ask, and this mystery remained unsolved until his retirement.

  The governor hosted a grand banquet to warmly entertain Kuang Jia-zhi and Pei Ge-jian, and the next day he politely sent off Kuang Jia-zhi on his journey.