Chapter 168: Clear Priorities

Red brick as a commodity truly was born at the wrong time in ancient China, languishing awkwardly for thousands of years.

By all logic, red brick has a simpler process than green brick and costs less, so it should have been far more widespread — yet successive emperors all put a stop to it here.

The two colors of Imperial Yellow (Ming Yellow) and Imperial Red (cinnabar) were reserved exclusively for the Imperial Palace and the Huangqin Guochi, just like the Queen's black Rolls-Royce — all were the sole preserve of the imperial household.

In the late Ming, as the court's control weakened, the people of Fujian, far from the Emperor's reach, once set off a wave of privately building red-brick structures; during this period, the Dutch even came to Zhangzhou and bought quite a lot of red brick to build Zeelandia.

Apart from that, it was not until the collapse of royal authority at the end of the Qing and the influx of industrial goods that the entire medieval society began using red brick in large quantities.

The Transmigrators also had their twists and turns with bricks. At first, the Hangzhou red brick sales were not booming: not everyone dared use the stuff — walls and houses, once built, would stand for many years, and if someone decided to stir up trouble, this was evidence of rebellion.

Next, the Dayuan side quickly adjusted the ingredient ratios for one part of the Red Brick based on the telegram sent back from Tangzhuang, making the product a lighter red, and sales of the 2.0 version red brick then improved somewhat.

Soon, the 3.0 version brick produced in Dayuan would hit the market: as the Kiln Area Base's strength grew, the Brick Kiln specifically for firing export green bricks was about to go into operation, and when it did, the industrial-grade green brick, which utterly outclassed traditional green brick in both geometric precision and strength, would certainly become a sought-after commodity in external markets. One must know, the ancient term "Grinding Bricks to a Seamless Fit" already clearly reflects the quality of original handmade products.

With the arrival of large numbers of purchasing merchants, the area around Tangzhuang, originally already not exactly quiet, became chaotic and raucous overnight.

Large numbers of Crewmen and laborers shuttled between the Warehouse and the river inlet; arrogant servants in fine clothes and spirited horses, accompanying men who looked like stewards, wandered among the goods; masons, carpenters, and stoneworkers squatted together in clusters, their tools of the trade laid out before them to mark their profession, eagerly waiting for clients to come and hire them.

Heading north along the river inlet in front of the gate, a row of rental boats was moored on the Tang River; a crowd of major merchants was now constantly gathered in front of Tangzhuang's gate, clamoring noisily, and every time a fleet entered the harbor, all kinds of short-term profiteering and price-gouging deals would flood the crowd — perhaps this was how primitive exchanges came into being?

Before long, villagers rowing skiffs from nearby also came — selling lotus-leaf glutinous rice cakes. The sort of characters threading through the crowd also multiplied — thieves. Tax collectors in Official Robes also came — men from the Bamboo and Timber Tax Bureau.

Recently, it was precisely this suddenly erupting, booming situation that had tied Xiong Dao's hands and feet.

This could not go on: Tangzhuang had no need to turn its front gate into a construction materials and home décor market. This freight station's most important task was transporting a certain special "cargo" at night; all other business was incidental. If this continued, before long people would be setting up shacks and stalls nearby, camping overnight... This was intolerable. Priorities had to be clear.

And so Xiong Dao began to clean things up.

The rice-cake seller's goods were bought out, and then the simple, honest fellow was kicked into the river by a Tangzhuang thug: "Scram! Come back and we burn your boat!"

Thieves were hoisted left and right by large men and carried off into the distance: "There's a wild lotus pond a mile out — big brother's taking you to see the lotus flowers."

As for the Bamboo and Timber Tax Bureau, Xiong Dao's side released Broker Chief Liu... These people were Subordinate to the Ministry of Works; a bunch of Guan Si Chiefs, Ambassadors, and Internal Leather agents were always eyeing the bamboo and timber on the market, taking a cut at every turn, and they were all old friends with Old Diao. Everyone had a meal together, negotiated a fixed sum, and then these plague gods were squared away.

This was even considered giving face; by the late Ming, the power of merchants was in fact already extremely formidable, especially those with Gentry or Huangqin Guochi backing them.

Here, a story from the Wanli-era "Eastern Palace Affairs" serves as reference: there was a Huizhou timber merchant Wang Jun and others who, wielding vast sums of money, bought one hundred sixty thousand logs... evaded over thirty-two thousand taels of silver in taxes... defrauding the state treasury of fifty to sixty thousand taels. His Excellency (the Vice Minister of Works) then summoned dozens of men from Huizhou to kneel in the court... The merchants, knowing His Excellency could not be swayed, went to the Eastern Depot and falsely accused him of taking bribes.

Yes, you read that right: several dozen red-hatted merchants brazenly evaded taxes, and when caught and unable to deny it, they actually joined together to frame the Eastern Depot...

Does your worldview not crumble? The Eastern Depot, historically ranked alongside the NKVD, the Gestapo, and the FBI, always portrayed on TV as the ultimate representative of brutal state organs, was framed just like that by merchants right in the main hall of the Ministry of Works.

After the irrelevant people had vanished, Xiong Dao next began to regulate the connected parties: from now on, each group of craftsmen was only permitted to leave one licensed customer-service representative to receive clients neatly under the erected bamboo awning, just like the Unicom girls running events on a plaza in later generations; all the rest of the master craftsmen were driven back to Hangzhou City.

As for the merchants, Tangzhuang had no choice but to specially designate a red-brick warehouse for them to bustle about in, with chairs and tea prepared inside, and Chu Maosheng appointed as Salon Manager.

All meals, food, and drinking water were now uniformly provided by Tangzhuang, and all outside peddlers were driven away.

The most important point: every day at four in the afternoon, Tangzhuang would close its hall; all business ceased, and outsiders had to take boats back to the city. The only ones left here were their own people wearing numbered vests.

"Finally, it's starting to look like something..." Xiong Dao now stood on the stone platform at Tangzhuang's gate, watching the outsiders board boats one after another to finish work and head home, and nodded with satisfaction. For the past while, he had done almost nothing else, spending every day here maintaining order, and after ten frantic days of imposing regulations, he had finally tidied the scene into peace and quiet.

"Good thing nothing was delayed." Xiong Dao continued to observe the surroundings. Seeing the duty personnel beginning to patrol the empty marketplace one after another, he turned around and went back into Tangzhuang.

Tangzhuang still looked the same as before; what was different was the rear garden. The rear garden that the Transmigrators had once modified, after the main force of Transmigrators and the majority of the Equipment had withdrawn, had now been opened up to Ming People subordinates.

In the Current Age, Xiong Dao and his two concubines-cum-secretaries-cum-telegraphers occupied a building to themselves; on the roof were several Photovoltaic Panels and antennas, and the other ordinary buildings had been assigned to the "guards" to live in.

Tangzhuang and Moyun Temple now shared the same group of watchmen, the Majority of whom were old hands from Pingfeng Stronghold. When the split happened back then, the young bandits went to Dayuan Island and the fleet, while the middle-aged bandits stayed behind to become guards and Beggar Sect leaders.

The watchmen later formed a mixed guard unit with one part of the Beggar Sect members, and the members began taking turns receiving training from the Transmigrators in Grid Battle, night patrol, and bow-and-crossbow shooting at Moyun Temple; after the main Troops of Transmigrators left, these men shouldered the heavy responsibility of guarding Moyun Temple and Tangzhuang.

Xiong Dao returned to the building in the rear garden. Checking his watch, it was already past five in the afternoon. He first had the girls bring dinner, which he hurriedly ate, and then at exactly six o'clock, he turned on the vehicle-mounted radio and began communicating with Lu Cheng over at Moyun Temple.

Shortly after, the call ended, and Xiong Dao began summoning the several guard unit captains waiting in the outer room, assigning them tasks one by one.

Once the assignments were complete, the enforcers departed with their orders. Master Xiong then walked into the bedroom and began taking off his clothes together with the two girls... ahem, changing outfits. It was not until the sun had set in the west, the first lone stars began to rise, and the light started to dim, that the building door slowly opened... Master Xiong strode out first from the building.

At this moment, Master Xiong had completely shed his wealthy merchant image. He was seen wearing an imitation CQB Night Combat Suit, a Boonie Hat on his head, his long hair falling from the back of his head into the hood; Master Xiong held a SCAR-17 tactical assault Rifle, a M9 pistol tucked at his waist, Low-Light Night Vision Goggles hanging on his chest, a Walkie-Talkie at the small of his back — the full swaggering image of a SWAT officer heading out on duty.

Behind Master Xiong were the two SWAT girls. The girls wore black wedge-heeled Leather Shoes on their feet, black tight-fitting washed-cloth trousers on their lower bodies, tactical daggers strapped to their thighs, American Barnett Hand Crossbows hanging at their waists, and Infrared Telescopes and night vision devices swaying on their chests; ponytails swung back and forth behind their heads, their silhouettes curvaceous, valiant and dashing.

After the one-king-two-queens squad stepped out bristling with Killing Intent, Master Xiong gave one girl's bottom a lecherous pat with a grin; the girl let out a soft cry and then ran off... all the way into the Watchtower in the corner of the wall.

"Yellow River reporting to Yangtze River, visibility good now, no abnormal conditions. Over."

"Yangtze River received, maintain observation, maintain observation. Over." As Master Xiong walked outward, he tested the Walkie-Talkie with the girl. Not far past the rear garden, the other girl also left him — the two girls were to Monitor the west and north sides of Tangzhuang from the Watchtower, which was the direction of Hangzhou City.

As Manor Lord Xiong walked steadily outward, people continuously fell in behind him from both sides.

"The laborers are all settled in?"

"Reporting to the Manor Lord, all locked up tight!"

"Check the locks again, and post men at the door to guard it."

"Aye!"

By this point, the reason for Xiong's massive mobilization of forces tonight was very clear: tonight the "goods" were arriving.

Every night when "shipments" went out from Moyun Temple, Tangzhuang was likewise on high alert as if facing a great enemy. The laborers would be locked inside their rooms, and all remaining personnel had to be fully deployed to ensure the smooth handover of the "cargo."

After Xiong Dao exited Tangzhuang's main gate and saw that his men were fully prepared, and the Crewmen on all four boats were also ready, he headed straight for that row of brick-and-concrete warehouses by the riverbank.

Seeing the Manor Lord approach, two guards pulled open the warehouse's main door. Xiong Dao passed through the warehouse, threading between stacked rice sacks, opened a hidden door in the corner, and then climbed a very narrow stone staircase up onto the warehouse Roof.

The Roof had been built by their own people when the building was constructed; right in the center was a recessed Machine Gun Nest, with Wood Boards overhead for concealment. This was a critical vantage point — all areas, including Tangzhuang and the river inlet docks, could be directly observed from the Roof.

After climbing onto the Roof, Xiong Dao first used the night vision device to scan the Circumference for any movement. Once he was certain there were no abnormal conditions around, he unhurriedly set up his assault Rifle, then took out the Walkie-Talkie, began cycling through channels, and made Communication with each party one by one.

The Walkie-Talkie now had four critical channels: the two girls in Tangzhuang's Watchtower, Lu Cheng in Moyun Temple, and also the leader of the Moyun Temple Transport Fleet who was Be About To arrive: Comrade Hu Xian.