Chapter 649: Medals and Calligraphic Treasures

April 11, Year 165. Nan Fu, Xiakou Town.

Since early this morning, the mansion's main gate had been tightly shut. Anyone unaware might have thought the newly arrived Master Nan had drunk too much the night before.

Yet within the inner courtyard of Nan Fu, it was an entirely different scene.

In the second-entry inner courtyard with a large poplar tree, five rows of thirty chairs had already been set up beneath it — one had to hand it to a wealthy household, they could just gather together dozens of armchairs in a matter of minutes, ready to pledge brotherhood at a moment's notice.

Today's occasion did indeed look like a brotherhood pledge: the majority of the intelligence personnel currently working at Wuhan Station were already in formal attire, seated in a square formation on the chairs.

By formal attire, it was of course not the standard ceremonial uniform of the intelligence system. This was an assignment behind enemy lines, so most intelligence personnel would not carry anything that could expose their identities.

However, today was a special circumstance, so to maximize the sense of ceremony as much as possible, the square formation personnel had collectively changed into light-blue Ming-style long robes — the closest color to the standard ceremonial uniform issued to everyone.

Of course, there were still a few people wearing actual formal attire.

On the bluestone steps before the main hall door stood Comrade Nan Wang, hands clasped behind his back, wearing the standard-issue lapel-collar blue ceremonial uniform of the intelligence system, fine woolen trousers, with a sash and no fewer than five various medals pinned to his chest.

Zhou Yi, at Nan Wang's side, wore a uniform of the same style, but without a sash on his chest, and only a single medal.

Time passed quickly. When Nan Wang turned his head and saw the morning sun had risen above the roof ridge, he nodded slightly: "Let us begin."

Zhou Yi, hearing this, immediately stepped forward one pace, faced the audience below the steps, and spoke in a full, resonant voice: "The commendation ceremony formally begins."

The next moment, Zhou Yi opened a hard-shell folder in his hands and read out the telegram: "Approved by the Station Chief and ratified by the General Bureau, it is hereby decided to confer meritorious honors upon Huang Zhong and Fang Yanxiao."

"Station Chief, please present the awards."

All of the above was standard procedure. Next, Zhou Yi stepped back to yield the spot, turned, and lifted a brass tray from a side table beside him; on it lay two brocade square boxes.

At this moment, the man of the hour, Station Chief Nan, took two steps forward and stood before the door.

After a light cough, Nan Wang first nodded to the pair standing at attention beneath the corridor pillars, then turned his face and addressed the crowd below in a clear voice: "It has been ascertained that Huang Zhong and Fang Yanxiao, throughout years of undercover work, have exercised self-restraint and endured with fortitude, completing all tasks to full satisfaction. They stand as models for their colleagues."

"Therefore, this station petitioned headquarters, and special approval has been granted to award the Perseverance Medal to both men, along with a monetary bonus, a certificate of merit, and residential property."

"Huang Zhong, Fang Yanxiao, step forward."

At this moment, even as veteran special agents of the Intelligence Bureau, the two men could not contain their excitement at receiving a medal for the first time in their lives, at gaining the recognition of their colleagues and the "big shots" of the General Bureau for the first time in their lives.

Suppressing the surging emotions in their hearts with great effort, they stepped forward, lips trembling slightly, faces stiff, bodies ramrod straight, waiting for Nan Wang to pin the medals on them.

Unlike the military's series of medals emphasizing valor and fearlessness, since special agents must operate in the shadows most of the time, the intelligence system's medals mostly carry connotations expressing core values such as forbearance and fortitude.

Even the name reflects this: the Perseverance Medal.

The Perseverance Medal, housed within the brocade box, was of the octagonal style common in later generations.

And the merit level corresponding to the Perseverance Medal was Third-Class Merit.

Third-Class Merit has multiple specific criteria. As applied to Huang Zhong and his comrade at this moment, it fell under the clause: overcoming difficulties, proactively, promptly, and effectively providing logistical, technical, or other operational support, thereby making a significant contribution to mission completion.

The next moment, Nan Wang pinned the beautiful medals onto the chests of the two men.

The medal's design was very simple. While its edges radiated light beams, at the very center was a die-stamped white birch tree — symbolizing unyielding resilience amidst ice and cold, perfectly fitting the theme.

The Perseverance Medal's design was simple, but its materials were excellent. Its base was copper-plated tinplate, the ribbon clasp employed a Chinese knot craft with filigree inlay, the perimeter was adorned with Ming-style handcrafted blue enamel tracery, and the center was cold-press molded. It could be described as superbly crafted, with every detail proclaiming the deep-pocketed, thick-waisted affluence of the Intelligence General Bureau.

At this point, the brief medal-awarding ceremony was basically about to conclude.

If this were at headquarters or a major rear-area station, by protocol there should also be ceremonies for presenting the certificate of merit, bonus, and property deed.

However, being in "enemy-occupied territory" now, Nan Wang forthrightly stated next: "We are currently in a dangerous place. As for the rest of the documented items, you two understand the rules — they are all on file at headquarters. You may claim them yourselves upon your return."

"We understand the rules!"

Compared to when the communists first started out back in the day, the Transmigrators now truly had a five-star beginning. Since that was the case, the rewards for meritorious subordinates were not limited to the spiritual aspect — wealthy men buy hearts and minds, after all. Material rewards were simple and crude; the Ming people were of a low level, didn't listen to grand principles, and fell for exactly this sort of thing.

Across all major factions, including the military, police, gendarmerie, and special services, anyone nowadays qualified to receive a reward at the level of Third-Class Merit would be accompanied by corresponding financial and housing rewards.

Houses in the New District were not cheap these days.

And so, today's brief yet solemn medal-awarding ceremony was about to conclude perfectly.

The final step: the award recipients accepted the envious, jealous, and resentful gazes and the applause of the entire assembly — the two awardees, now men of property, were at this moment overcome with emotion, hot tears brimming in their eyes, expressing their resolve to follow Grand Commandant Cao to the death, to obey Station Chief Nan with absolute fealty, to strive for new merits, and to secure a second house to leave for their sons.

After the ceremony concluded, Nan Wang took the opportunity to appoint Huang Zhong as Deputy Chief of the Intelligence Section of Wuhan Station, and Fang Yanxiao as Deputy Chief of the Operations Section.

These two appointments were implicit in the nature of things.

It was not that Huang Zhong and his comrade were simply fortunate, catching the wave of Wuhan Station's rise. Just in these past few days, since Nan Wang had led the main force to port, Huang Zhong's team had arranged all logistical affairs in perfect order and gathered every kind of intelligence channel comprehensively. This alone proved the two men's professional proficiency, and that throughout the long prior period of deep cover, they had been working diligently and earnestly all along.

This was also the reason Nan Wang had reported merit for Huang Zhong's team the very moment he sent the telegram.

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Having rewarded the meritorious personnel, boosted his subordinates' morale, and consolidated the internal structure, Station Chief Nan began his daily work.

Establishing an intelligence apparatus in a locality, especially a Grade A major station like Wuhan, was something that could not be rushed in the slightest. If the foundation was poorly laid, a major blunder might occur somewhere down the line.

Therefore, in the days that followed, Nan Wang proceeded step by step, unhurried and steady, treading one solid footprint at a time.

First, after purchasing the new residence, Master Nan did not rush to open a new commercial firm, but continued socializing.

During this process, Master Nan not only went to guild halls to converse with people, but also invited some merchants he found agreeable to his new home as guests, to discuss business.

At the same time, Master Nan, gradually familiarizing himself with the situation, began submitting visiting cards in succession, seeking opportunities to call upon some of the local prominent families and commercial leaders.

In the Ming dynasty, such people were mostly guild heads of a particular trade, all of them socially adept individuals. Since Master Nan from Jiangnan had delivered both his card and gifts, there was certainly no reason to refuse him a meeting.

Thus, Master Nan's activities in getting the lay of the land proceeded rather smoothly. At least during this period, the local commercial circles became aware of his existence as a sundry goods merchant, and he became a somewhat familiar face.

Yet it went no further than that.

As a major commercial hub connecting all routes, Xiakou saw countless merchants arrive each year intending to make their mark. Yet amidst the rises and falls, those who ultimately succeeded were, in the end, few in number.

People like Master Nan, who came to scout the terrain and run the connections, were seen all too often, so most adopted a wait-and-see attitude.

Of course, the various local gangs, both aboveboard and underground, having prepared all manner of tactics and ready to give this wealthy southerner a thorough lesson in what "bullying the outsider" meant, were already rubbing their palms and sharpening their knives.

Master Nan appeared utterly oblivious to all this, because he was very busy and could not be bothered with such trivial nonsense.

Thus it went, until mid-April, when the social niceties had more or less been run through, and Nan Wang therefore planned to choose an auspicious day nearby to open the commercial firm — while he had been running the connections, neither the Intelligence Team nor the Operations Team had been idle; they had already spent silver to acquire a row of three shopfronts with an attached backyard on Shima Jiajie, near Official Street.

Although Shima Street was not Main Street, it was only a few street entrances away from Main Street, and very close to the riverbank docks, equally bustling and lively — a suitable place to open a commercial firm.

With that, the preparatory work before opening commenced: ordering a new plaque, moving goods from the storehouse to the commercial firm, booking the banquet, sending invitations to various merchant friends —

The affairs were numerous, but fortunately Wuhan Station had ample manpower, and now also had peripheral organizations, so all these tasks were carried out methodically and completed.

Thus, in the three days before the opening, friends from every path — black and white, open and hidden — all made ready to take part in the opening of the "Ke Bo Ge" Commercial Firm.

Yet right at this critical juncture, early on the third day, Master Nan boarded the East Guangfu and crossed the river to Wuchang City.

In fact, several visiting cards from Master Nan had already been delivered into Wuchang City as early as seven days prior.

When Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming captured Wuchang, he established the Huguang Provincial Administration Commission, the Judicial Surveillance Commission, and the Provincial Military Commission — the "Three Provincial Offices" — all headquartered in Wuchang.

During the reign of Ming Yingzong, the post of Huguang Grand Coordinator was set up in Wuchang. By this time, Wuchang City was thick with government offices: the provincial-level Three Provincial Offices, as well as the Wuchang Prefecture and Jiangxia County administrative bureaus, earning it the name "Huguang Provincial Capital."

As a key construction project of the Intelligence General Bureau, the Wuhan Station — and its Station Chief, Nan Wang — had already received several letters of recommendation via the high-speed sea-mail system before departure.

These letters were arranged by the Beijing Station. The writers were all powerful high officials currently in Beijing.

And the purpose of these letters was to recommend Nan Wang, this "younger brother," to old friends and close acquaintances in Wuchang City, asking them to look after him a little.

According to the contingency plan, Nan Wang could open and use these letters at his discretion to rapidly build up a local background.

And so, the day before the opening of the Wuhan Ke Bo Ge, Master Nan, returned from Wuchang City, first urgently summoned a paperhanger that very night and had a piece of calligraphy hung inside the Commercial Firm.

This piece of calligraphy held only two characters: "Everlasting Prosperity."

The personal seal on the calligraphy and painting bore the signature of the newly appointed Huguang Grand Coordinator, Wang Mengyin.

The next day, after the firecrackers had sounded and guests from all circles had streamed through the door, they were immediately shocked by Master Nan's background: these two characters, "Everlasting Prosperity," were personally handwritten by the Grand Coordinator himself and stamped with his personal seal — not the kind churned out by an aide just to make money.

Figures from every faction instantly looked at Master Nan with new eyes.

Immediately after, an even more astonishing scene unfolded: the de facto boss of Xiakou Town, Xiakou Subprefectural Magistrate Yuan Huochang, Lord Yuan, arrived with his full retinue of regalia, official placards, and government troops to offer his felicitations to Master Nan of Ke Bo Ge.

In this one moment, the crowd scattered and every evil force shrank back.