Chapter 644: Taking Up the Post

Once the order was given, the militarily managed Intelligence General Bureau immediately began operating with high efficiency.

Nan Wang, the Seventh Section Chief, was relieved of his original post and seamlessly transferred to the newly established position of Regional Intelligence Station Chief, with a rank equivalent to Colonel.

Normally, the rank corresponding to a Regional Intelligence Station Chief is Major General. Because Nan Wang's seniority was still shallow this time, his rank was temporarily set one tier lower.

Even so, a high-level intelligence officer of Regional Station Chief rank had, before this, only ever been appointed from among the Transmigrators.

Therefore, Nan Wang's appointment this time was very special: even if there were underlying reasons behind the scenes like the Transmigrators' scarcity and fear of death, Nan Wang still opened an upward path to high-level posts for Ming Natives, which held great significance and profound influence.

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Since the Station Chief had been decided, the remaining work naturally fell to the Station Chief to oversee. The first thing Nan Wang needed to do next was, of course, to build his team and select his personnel.

This task was completed very quickly.

The Seventh Section, established two years prior, had the original daily function of supplying field personnel to various external stations.

From the Section Chief down, Seventh Section personnel normally conducted infiltration training according to Ming People's attire and behavioral patterns.

The reason Nan Wang was appointed Seventh Section Chief some time ago was precisely because he was the internally designated candidate for Regional Station Chief. Serving as Seventh Section Chief for a period helped him familiarize himself with the internal personnel situation in advance.

This arrangement took effect the first moment Nan Wang accepted the appointment. The new Station Chief took less than one hour to draft the list of the first group of personnel and submit it to the higher-ups for approval.

The first group of personnel was very important; they were the core members for establishing a regional station, and all of them would follow Nan Wang to take up their posts in the field.

Of course, the list also contained one part of personnel internally designated by superiors in advance; Nan Wang was certainly clear about this.

After the list was approved, the personnel on it were quickly notified. Then everyone went to the meeting room together to meet the Station Chief, receive their duty assignments, and hold a mobilization meeting.

The first group of personnel accompanying Nan Wang to his external post totaled 0 members.

Among them, the Intelligence Team, with Zhou Yi as its leader, consisted of 8 members.

Next, the Communications Group responsible for confidential matters and communication consisted of 4 members.

Finally, the Action Group responsible for operations consisted of 18 members.

The above three groups of equal rank each reported directly to Station Chief Nan Wang.

Next came the intense preparations for the mission. The time the higher-ups allowed for preparation was very short, only 7 days.

During these 7 days, Zhou Yi did not have a single moment of leisure. He had to formulate travel plans and other documents together with Nan Wang, and also had to visit various General Bureau departments to collect communication call signs, funds, weapons, equipment, and other resources.

Finally, he was also responsible for team building, organizing personnel to review travel regulations, preparing various contingency plans, and coordinating internal personnel relations, and so on.

In short, during this stage, Zhou Yi was full of enthusiasm and threw himself wholeheartedly into the work, already effectively shouldering the workload of a Station Chief's deputy.

On this point, it was not merely the desire for achievement that drove Zhou Yi. His personal relationship with Nan Wang also constantly reminded him: he could not let his elder brother lose face; he had to exert himself to repay the sentiment of being "promoted."

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Everything had to start from 4 years ago.

It must be said, the first half of Zhou Yi's life was, in fact, hardly worth mentioning. It was the ordinary script of a citizen's son from Ezhou in steady decline, struggling for survival until silently perishing, accompanying the worsening environment of the Late Ming.

But in this plane, history changed. The character Zhou Yi, who fell ill and drifted to Guangzhou, was first sent to the New District by his benefactor Yang Liuge, who meddled in his affairs. After this, having just recovered from a serious illness, he met the noble person of his life: Nan Wang.

At that time, Nan Wang had just returned to Guangzhou to report on his duties after executing a mission in the Jiangnan region, and was temporarily pressed into service by the General Bureau's Human Resources Department to recruit employees at the refugee camp.

This group of recruited employees was targeted: those of northern origin.

In the refugee camp, Nan Wang "took a fancy to" Zhou Yi, who was still recuperating, at a single glance. This quick-witted young man from Ezhou, who had been an Apprentice at a calligraphy and painting shop and was slightly literate, greatly suited Nan Wang's eye.

Thus, the dazed Zhou Yi was first arranged to stay at the well-appointed Intelligence Bureau Designated Guesthouse. Afterwards, following further investigation and vetting by Nan Wang, Zhou Yi was ultimately sent to "Deer Valley" to undergo a full set of spy training.

"Deer Valley" was a large-scale training base established by the Intelligence General Bureau deep in the central mountain range of Yizhou, modeled after the Quantico Training Camp.

Zhou Yi did not fail Nan Wang's discerning eye. This seemingly ordinary young man shone brilliantly in Deer Valley, ultimately becoming one of the few Special Agents in that group of trainees to pass all training courses, earning a special recommendation from the Training Camp.

Regarding Zhou Yi's scores, although his performance in various physical fitness and Grid Battle courses was mediocre, he achieved high marks in the shooting subject.

Additionally, in core spy subjects such as intelligence gathering and analysis, sending and receiving reports, infiltration, and instigation, Zhou Yi received high marks at the Training Camp. Zhou Yi's innate memory was beyond ordinary people, which allowed him to perform excellently in core spy subjects.

In this era of extremely low literacy rates, a person like Zhou Yi, who possessed basic culture and could master core spy skills, was far more precious than the value of a dozen Action Team Members who only knew how to draw guns and rapid-fire.

Thus, after graduation, Zhou Yi quickly took up a post as a low-level intelligence officer in the Intelligence General Bureau, and received more meticulous long-term training under Nan Wang.

In essence, Zhou Yi was a disciple personally trained by Nan Wang.

This also explains why Zhou Yi was so proactive. This external assignment was not only a new starting point for Nan Wang's career, but also a new starting point for his, Zhou Yi's, life; neither master nor apprentice could afford any mistakes.

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Time flew by in tense busyness. In a flash, the time for departure arrived.

January 17, 165, the first day of the Lunar Calendar New Year.

At the enclosed Internal Affairs Dock in the southern part of the New District, a Ming-style sailing ship was fully prepared and ready to depart.

On the Jetty, Nan Wang Master Nan, having changed into merchant attire—a black jade hairpin, Square Pacifying Cap, and a copper-colored, large Ming Dynasty Silver Ingot-patterned Nanjing Satin long robe—was exchanging pleasantries with colleagues who had come to see him off, his face beaming with a prosperous air.

This time, Nan Wang's team would present the outward appearance of a traveling merchant group centered around "Master Nan."

If one truly wanted to trace back the time he "joined the work" in the future, in fact, the scholar Nan Wang had "joined the gang" as early as before the Transmigrators set out to seize Territory in Taiwan. That is to say, Nan Wang actually "joined the work" earlier than many Transmigrators.

This point in time was truly very early—roughly even earlier than Jinggangshan, that is, shortly after the lake Party, perhaps.

Therefore, Nan Wang actually knew all the Transmigrators currently in power. Back then, everyone was crammed together in Tangzhuang in Hangzhou, scraping out a living; the Transmigrators had not yet prospered, barely counting as friends made in humbler days.

And it was precisely due to this bit of connection that the Native Nan Wang was regarded as "one of us." The reason the Transmigrators dared to entrust him with the Territory of an entire region today was that this connection accounted for a large portion of the weight.

Quite a few people came to see him off. Besides Dai Yun, the Bureau Chief directly overseeing the Intelligence Division, there was also a Deputy Director, as well as three or four mid-level cadres from the General Bureau.

At this moment, Nan Wang Master Nan nodded repeatedly, cupping his hands, and while listening to Dai Yun's instructions, his face was wreathed in smiles, already beginning to enter the state of a Native merchant.

Zhou Yi, dressed entirely as a Chang Sui, was standing at the bow, silently watching the big shots converse.

Before long, the busy big shots retreated.

Watching the big shots board their carriages under heavy guard, Nan Wang Master Nan, the Station Chief standing at the bow and making a show of waving, had a calm expression now. After casting a deep glance at the New District, still in a state of busy construction even on the first day of the new year, he clasped his hands behind his back and said clearly: "Set sail."

Zhou Yi immediately gave a whistle. The next moment, accompanied by the boatmen's work chants as they hoisted the sails, facing the slightly chilly river wind, the cargo ship "Dong Guang Fu" officially set sail, following the broad Pearl River downstream.

The "Dong Guang Fu" was a traditional Ming-style Hard-sail Ship.

Although this type of vessel had now suffered the impact of various new ship types, it was still mainstream along the Yangtze River line and in the Great Ming territories north of the Yangtze.

And this time, since the team led by the wealthy merchant Nan Wang Master Nan was going to work in "enemy-occupied territory," they certainly needed to travel on a traditional vessel like the Dong Guang Fu.

The East Guangfu, belonging to the Intelligence General Bureau, looked rather unremarkable, only about eighty percent new.

Though its appearance was identical to traditional ship designs, in many details the East Guangfu had undergone internal modifications. For instance, the steel-wire assist system beneath the deck planks allowed a small number of crewmen to raise the heavy Ming-style rigid sails when necessary.

Regarding the cargo.

The cargo in the lowest hold was, naturally, items inconvenient to display openly — such as various firearms, ammunition, and explosives. Not only would these be barred from high-speed rail in later generations, they would also be seized and impounded in the Ming dynasty.

Setting these aside, the East Guangfu's overt cargo consisted of scarce industrial goods.

However, these industrial goods were not being hauled to "enemy-occupied territory" — the purpose of this southern voyage was to gain a firm foothold and open up a new situation, to slip into the village quietly, not to use rare goods to draw a spotlight-grabbing buff upon themselves.

So what were these rare goods for? In truth, they were supplies the General Bureau was sending along to various local stations en route.

In this era, a single value-preserving industrial item often proved more effective than an equivalent value in silver taels. The Intelligence General Bureau's branch stations across various regions had long since discovered this point in their dealings with the natives.

As a result, the General Bureau later converted one part of its support funds into goods, which were periodically carried to the stations by merchant vessels.

This time, the East Guangfu was playing the role of that "courier."

After departing the Pearl River, the East Guangfu followed the coastline, sailing steadily north along the channel marked by buoys and lighthouses. Sails stretched in an unbroken line the whole way; the channel's bustle would astonish anyone arriving here for the first time.

Thus sailing against the wind the entire way, on a night seven days later, the East Guangfu spotted in the distance the positioning flames of the lighthouse cluster formed by Yandun Guard, Jinmen Chishan, and Nanputuo.

Xiamen had been reached.