The organizational structure had been set up before entering the city, and the main cadres had been identified. After Liu Xiang assigned the indigenous personnel he received, the organizational structure was roughly completed.
There was a lot of noise in front of them as they were registering for a haircut. Liu Xiang couldn't care less and hurriedly came down and entered the office - Lin Baiguang was already waiting for him.
"The army is about to enter the city. It's a bit urgent. It's all up to you." Liu Xiang didn't be polite and got straight to the point.
The 4th Battalion and the National Army responsible for the task of occupying Guangzhou Prefecture entered the city on the day it opened. What is about to enter the city now is the main force of the South China Army participating in the Guangdong Raiders. From a military perspective alone, there is no need for these troops to enter the city, but the veterans
They all believed that it was necessary to take this opportunity to publicize "We are Wu Weiyang" so that the locals could fully understand the power of the Fubo Army and fully deter the rebels present. Therefore, they decided to pass through the city fully armed.
"This matter is really difficult to handle." Lin Baiguang spread out the map of Guangzhou he brought. This map is the hard work of the Ministry of Urban Engineering in the past few years. However, after all, the Ministry of Urban Engineering is only a secret agency and has no right to send surveying and mapping personnel away in a big way.
We went into each building to conduct on-site surveying and mapping, so the details were not too meticulous. We roughly drew the main street network and building groups in Guangzhou to scale.
"Although it is not a military parade, it is actually the same as a military parade." Lin Baiguang said, "As far as I know, the most appropriate route is to enter the city from the South Gate, walk north on Chengxuan Street, and pass at the bottom of the double gate.
Finally, leave the city through the Great North Gate or the Small North Gate - just across the entire city."
Chengxuan Street is the Beijing Road in modern time and space. Throughout the dynasties, Beijing Road has been the north-south central axis of Guangzhou City, and its transportation status is very important. There are a large number of official offices, academies and temples on both sides of the street, and it is also an important commercial district. Here
Armed marches can achieve the best results.
"...The key is that this street is wide enough and has a stone road." Lin Baiguang pointed at the map, "You must have seen the streets in Guangzhou."
Liu Xiang nodded: "It's narrow and the road surface is uneven. It's mostly a mixture of mud and gravel."
"The mixed gravel roads are pretty good. Most of them are dirt roads with no stones at all." Lin Baiguang said, "But that's not the difficulty."
"Where is it?" Liu Xiang was a little confused.
"It's not clear here. It's better for us to go and take a look directly." Lin Baiguang smiled slightly, "I think you should work more on-site to understand the difficulty of managing a big city."
"I accept this opinion." Liu Xiang nodded, "One more thing, I wonder if you can temporarily serve as the chief of the Guangzhou Police Department?"
"This is inappropriate. The national police and our civil affairs department are two different systems. Besides, Ran Yao still has someone in his pocket. He hasn't mentioned the candidate yet just to balance the internal affairs - let's wait until the formal appointment comes.
"
"You can work part-time for now. I'll send you a letter of appointment later. It won't be too late for you to handle the transfer when the official director comes. There are a lot of things to do in police affairs. And the sooner the better.
Besides, you, the director of the Comprehensive Management Office, how can you do this without a gun?" Liu Xiang shook his head, "Although I am the director of the Military Control Commission, I have the power to control the army and civilians.
I don’t necessarily have to come here every time to file a report and apply..."
"Isn't there a detective team you recruited?" Lin Baiguang said with a smile, "These people are very easy to use."
Liu Xiang and Lin Baiguang left the city hall, neither taking a car nor taking a sedan, and took more than a dozen guards with them. Lin Baiguang also called the office secretary and several post-and-detection team members, and they went to Chengxuan Street together.
Chengxuan Street is not far from the government offices - it has been the political and cultural center of Guangzhou throughout history. There are many government offices, academies and temples here, so the surrounding houses and streets are quite neat and tidy. However, most of the streets are winding and the paths are narrow.
The road surface was even more muddy - sewerage facilities here are almost non-existent. Not to mention the domestic sewage flowing across the river, it would take a long time for the accumulated water after the rain to dry up. Liu Xiang thought to himself that he was lucky to have listened to Lin Baiguang's advice when he came out.
Reminder, wear long oilskin boots. Otherwise it will be difficult to walk.
"It's pretty good here. Because it's close to the government offices and the main business district, the residents are relatively wealthy, and the road surface is still a mixture of mud and gravel. If you get down to the back streets, the mud won't have time to dry out."
"I originally thought that Guangzhou would be better than Lingao and Qiongshan, but it seems to be about the same." Liu Xiang said with a wry smile. "With the sanitary conditions like this, it's strange that there are no infectious diseases in summer."
“In ancient society, there was no concept of urban planning and management.”
As they walked along, there was a gate at every alley. There were various styles of street gates, including decent gatehouses. Others were just a door opening in the wall across the street and a fence. The simplest ones were just bamboo.
The made-up horse was used to seal the entrance to the alley at night and move it aside during the day.
"Street gates are an important element of public security in Guangzhou. Street gates are locked after dark. There are great limits on criminal activities at night. In an era without street lighting, this was considered the most effective means of urban security management."
"It's like we have a curfew now."
"That's what it means. In fact, night walking here used to be prohibited. There are also government officials patrolling the streets every night, and anyone who sees you walking at night will be questioned. If he thinks you are acting suspiciously, he will be reprimanded by Master Dianshi and slapped with twenty sticks.
, you have to stay in the prison cell for one night and be released on bail the next day. Of course, if you are a gentry or have some money in your hand and can bribe you in time, you won't have to suffer this physical pain."
"Really *****." Liu Xiang said.
"The police are still useful," Lin Baiguang said. "They are very familiar with the criminal gangs and beggar gangs in the city. If you want to improve public security, you have to rely on them - at least for now."
Liu Xiang saw a small gray brick house with a similar appearance next to each street gate. Although most of them were dilapidated and had incomplete doors and windows, they used gray tube tiles that were only used in government buildings. He suddenly became curious and just wanted to walk over and take a look.
, a person posted on the side said: "Sir, this is the official residence where the street watcher lives. It is very dirty inside..."
It was indeed very dirty. There were urine stains on the wall. There were several urine buckets placed against the wall, exuding a strong odor. There was also a large notice posted on the wall above the urine buckets. It was yesterday that he informed the general public that
The "Letter to Guangzhou Citizens" posted by the Administrative Office throughout the city.
He didn't expect it to be posted here, and Liu Xiang smiled bitterly, but people who come to urinate like this will definitely see it.
"A street watcher?"
"Yes, sir."
Lin Baiguang saw that he was ignorant and explained that the so-called street watchers were the people responsible for opening and closing the street gates and keeping watch at night. They were usually beggars. They were also responsible for carrying the ownerless corpses that had fallen on the road.
"It's ridiculous to rely on beggars for public security." Liu Xiang shook his head. He already understood that these houses are actually the "police booths" of modern society. Although there may not be police officers in the police booths in the 21st century, at least there are security guards. Here
Actually using a beggar.
"How much does it cost to give him a month?"
"How much you give is a matter on the street. The Yamen doesn't care." The clerk said cautiously.
Liu Xiang almost cried because of this weird idea of city management. A detective team member thought that Liu Xiang wanted to see the watchman, so he walked to the door, kicked open the reed curtain blocking the door and shouted: "Come out! Prefect
The master wants to see you!"
A man in a patched uniform came out from inside. He knelt down in front of Liu Xiang and said, "Kowtow to your lord."
Liu Xiang saw that he looked quite clean, except that his clothes were covered in patches, and said, "Get up and talk."
"Yes, sir."
Liu Xiang asked: "How much rice will the street give you per month if you work here?"
The watchman didn't dare to raise his head, so he lowered his head and said, "Sir, I don't have any money or rice."
Liu Xiang said: "Without money and rice, how do you make a living?"
"I can still survive by relying on the neighbors to take care of me and give me some leftover rice and porridge."
Liu Xiang suddenly turned around and asked the book office: "Don't you give money and rice to watchmen on the street?"
The clerk's name is Jia Jue, because he is considered "conscientious" on weekdays. He treats the people without blackmail or fraud, and he never makes things difficult when getting paid. He is a clerk with a good reputation. Therefore, he was not liquidated this time. He heard Liu Xiang ask questions
, not daring to be negligent, said: "Actually, there is a gain..."
"Who embezzled it?"
"Money and food are given to big bones everywhere." Jia Jue said. He said that "big bones" are beggar heads.
Liu Xiang nodded, thinking how could I forget this? Beggars also have gangs. However, watchmen were an important security force in ancient cities. Their night watch not only told the time, but also scared and disturbed the gangsters. Now we can organize
Take advantage of it.
A group of people walked onto Chengxuan Street. This street is indeed "big", with a visual inspection of the width of more than 9 meters. It is a rare wide street in Guangzhou. The most important thing is that the road is paved with bluestone slabs - although the stone slabs have
There are varying degrees of fragmentation and missing, and water has accumulated in many places.
"The average road surface is about 9 meters wide. Our people have measured it." Lin Baiguang said.
"It's as wide as a two-lane road. It can't hold a serious military parade. A six-column march won't be a problem. Artillery carriages and baggage trucks can also run around."
"Haha, so I want to invite you to take a look. It's not what you think." Lin Baiguang smiled, "Materials are often unreliable."
Chengxuan Street is a very lively and prosperous main road and commercial street in Guangzhou, with many shops on both sides. Although because the city has just changed hands, many shops are not open due to concerns about safety, and most of the vendors are not selling their stalls. There are still many people on the street.
The appearance of their group immediately caused a commotion. People knew from their attire that they must be high-ranking Australian officials. Some well-informed people already knew that they were "Australian governors", and they cheered.
They hid on both sides of the street. The waiter who was shouting enthusiastically also became mute. The originally lively street suddenly became deserted. (To be continued.)