September 20, Dongshan Island.

Han Yu rode a military jeep to the Exercise Command Center logistics support group tent.

The Russian Navy was sending a ship formation to visit China and would soon be berthing at the East Sea Base. Vice Commander Yu had gone back to the East Sea the day before yesterday to prepare for receiving the Russian Navy formation, so Han Yu could only report to Captain Fang.

As soon as Captain Fang saw him, he asked, "How come you're only back today? Does an accident investigation really take half a month?"

Han Yu put down his luggage and said helplessly, "The investigation only took a few days. I was all set to come back, but plans can't keep up with changes."

"What do you mean, plans can't keep up with changes?"

"That Cosco freighter sank in the river. There were nearly a hundred tons of fuel in her fuel tanks, and there are several counties and cities' domestic water intake points downstream of the sinking area. The province, city, and counties all attach great importance to the matter, demanding a prompt salvage and at the same time requiring that no fuel be allowed to leak during the operation."

"What's that got to do with you?"

"Binjiang City's Secretary Lu, Linghai's Secretary Qian, Jiangcheng's Vice Mayor Chen and the city leaders of Shuzhou and Dacang, even the county leaders of Zhuangming, all demanded that I take part in the salvage."

"I almost forgot, you brat are the Binjiang Water Army Commander. The local Party and government leaders don't trust anyone else, they only trust you."

"Having the leaders trust you too much isn't always a good thing. It kept me working on the river for a full twelve days."

Captain Fang asked with a smile, "Did you get the sunken ship up?"

Han Yu quickly said, "We brought her up. The fuel didn't leak."

"Can that Cosco ship still be repaired after being salvaged?"

"It can be repaired, but a major overhaul wouldn't mean much."

"The damage is that serious?"

"It's not just serious damage."

Han Yu let out a light sigh and explained, "It's a nearly 20-year-old large bulk carrier, rusted through with holes everywhere. Pump a little ballast water into the holds and it's like fountains. There are cracks in many places in the hull. Stamp your foot and the rust comes pouring down; big flakes of rust can be pried off by hand. Putting her in dock for a major refit is worse than just building a new ship."

Captain Fang nodded and pressed on, "How's the accident handling going?"

"The Marine investigation is finished. The disputes between the two collision parties are huge. Marine couldn't mediate it, so they've gone to Hanwu to sue."

"To Hanwu?"

"The Yangtze River Channel takes the Liuhe–Liuheihe black house line at Dacang as the boundary. East of that is under the jurisdiction of the East Sea Maritime Bureau, and maritime disputes there fall under the East Sea Maritime Court. Westward to the Mountain City Waterway, all maritime disputes fall under the jurisdiction of the Hanwu Maritime Court."

Binjiang is so far from Hanwu, and for a traffic accident that happened in Binjiang Waters they actually have to go all the way to Hanwu to file suit!

Captain Fang couldn't make sense of it and pressed him, "Doesn't Binjiang have a Maritime Court?"

"The Binjiang Maritime Court is a detached tribunal of the East Sea Maritime Court and doesn't have jurisdiction over this maritime dispute."

"Does Jiangcheng have a Maritime Court?"

"Yes, but the Jiangcheng Maritime Court is a detached tribunal of the Hanwu Maritime Court. The amount in dispute in this collision case is very large, and the impact is also significant. The Jiangcheng Maritime Court is not accepting it; it's directly under the jurisdiction of the Hanwu Maritime Court."

"The Hanwu Maritime Court is equivalent to a High Court?"

"No, they're only equivalent to a Middle Court. If the parties are dissatisfied with the judgment, they can appeal to the Beihu Provincial High Court."

"So Cosco was sued by the Korean ship owner, and this lawsuit is going to drag on?"

"Quite the opposite: the Korean ship owner was sued by Cosco. Before I came back I heard the Hanwu Maritime Court had already accepted the case. The first hearing will probably take some time to schedule."

"Cosco is the plaintiff?" Captain Fang thought he'd misheard; it sounded a bit like the bad guy crying foul first.

Everyone wants to protect their own vital interests.

Han Yu had seen this sort of thing many times and confirmed with a smile, "Even the Binjiang Maritime Bureau has become a defendant. Cosco being the plaintiff is perfectly normal."

Captain Fang asked in astonishment, "Are you kidding me? They're even suing the Binjiang Maritime Bureau?"

"The party suing the Bureau isn't Cosco, it's the Korean ship owner. Strictly speaking, they object to the administrative penalty imposed by the Binjiang Maritime Bureau and have filed for administrative review. But it was quickly rejected, and now they're looking for ways to appeal."

"Your wife won't be affected, will she?"

"How could she be affected? There's nothing wrong with their investigation results. The Jiangnan Maritime Bureau and the National Maritime Bureau even commended them, and have taken the investigation process as a classic case for the maritime system this year. And the main reason the Korean ship owner filed for administrative review is that they're worried it'll hurt them in the subsequent lawsuit."

"That's a real mess."

"Yeah. It's best if nothing happens. Once something does and you start going to court, you won't get a result in less than a year or so. And even if the court hands down a judgment, whether it can be enforced smoothly is another problem."

In any case, the young man had done a pretty good job on this temporary assignment.

Not long ago, Cosco's senior management had personally called Vice Commander Yu to express their thanks.

Captain Fang didn't ask any more. Instead, he patted Han Yu on the arm: "You must be exhausted rushing back like this. First go to the Observation Team to cancel your leave, then go back to the ship and get a good rest."

"Yes, sir!"

...

He walked out of the logistics support group tent and took a vehicle to the Observation Team camp area.

There were only two observers on duty in the camp; the leaders and "colleagues" had all gone out to observe.

After canceling his leave, Han Yu confirmed that the "Battlefield Flood-Fighting and Emergency-Rescue Deeds Speaking Tour Group" had been disbanded. Feeling a weight off his shoulders, he went back to the beach, asked someone to use the radio to contact the Bin Xun, and had Yang Jianbo arrange for a power boat to come pick him up.

The cross-sea exercise was still underway.

Looking around, there were more officers and soldiers, more equipment and all kinds of vessels on the beach and at sea than before. Helicopters were flying back and forth overhead, and from time to time a few fighter jets streaked across the sky. Even the air was thick with tension.

"Salted Fish, when did you get back?"

"Just now. Adviser Wu, which unit are you observing today?"

"Them." Adviser Wu ran over and pointed at the Army special forces doing combat swim crossing, then asked with a grin, "Now that you're back, have you reported to Captain Shen?"

"I just went by the camp area. Captain Shen wasn't there."

"He should be up in the stands."

Han Yu instinctively turned and looked up. He could vaguely see the stands packed with people.

Adviser Wu lowered his voice: "The Military Leader is here, watching from up there."

"Oh."

"While you were away, I went with Captain Shen to patronize your Linghai Hotel a few times. I was starting to feel embarrassed about going again, and you're back just in time. I'll go over tonight and do some more 'observing'."

There were over a hundred generals on shore, and even more discipline inspectors.

When they rested at night, nobody knew whether the superior would come down for an inspection, or whether the discipline teams would come around on patrol.

A ship anchored out at sea was different. If the superior had nothing particularly important, he wouldn't go out there. Even if he did, he'd only go to the Navy ships to check work; he was unlikely to board civilian vessels.

In short, the "Linghai Hotel" was very popular!

Thinking of this, Han Yu couldn't help cursing with a laugh: "You guys just sponge off us all the time, you think that's fun? Aren't you afraid people will laugh at you if word gets out!"

"The Commander isn't embarrassed, so what's there for a lowly staff officer like me to be embarrassed about? Besides, what's our relationship? We're comrades-in-arms, we're colleagues!"

"Once I'm back on the ship I'm going to check the books. I figure our hospitality expenses this month won't be low."

"Cheapskate!"

"We're not like you. You have military funds; we don't. Our budget depends entirely on going around with a begging bowl."

"Can't you be a bit more generous, kid? We only went over for a few simple meals, it's not like we had you serving us rare delicacies from the mountains and seas. Do you really have to fuss over it like this?"

"I do. We're poor, remember?"

…

At the same time, the Nanjing Military Region Commander was observing the beach through a high-magnification telescope.

He clearly saw Han Yu and Adviser Wu talking as they boarded the ship, and couldn't help turning sideways to say, "Looks like 'one-shot drunk'. Where's he been these last few days? I haven't seen him at all."

A few days ago the Military Region Chief of Staff had gone to sea to visit the Civilian Militia Reserve Force supporting the exercise. The Linghai Reserve Camp was one of the companies he visited, and he'd patronized the "Linghai Hotel." Covering his mouth, he calmly reported, "Zhonghai had a cargo ship in the Yangtze River run into a Korean cargo ship. The people from Zhonghai pulled some strings and found him, asking him to go back and assist with the investigation."

"He's not Marine. What's he doing assisting an investigation?"

"He's the Binjiang Water Army Commander and he's close with the Maritime Bureau. His wife seems to work in the Maritime Bureau."

"Zhonghai used his connections, went through his back door!"

"Seems so."

The Nanjing Military Region had quite a few Reserve Forces, but there weren't many that the Military Region Commander sitting in the front row could actually remember. The more the Military Region Commander thought about it, the more absurd this seemed. He put down the telescope and said irritably, "During an exercise, they pull him off the front line and haul him back? That's nonsense!"

The Chief of Staff hurried to explain: "This really isn't nonsense. Both publicly and privately, he should take leave and go back. We're going to establish two Reserve transport regiments in Zhonghai. Zhonghai runs into trouble and comes to us, we can't just ignore it."

The Military Region Commander caught on and asked in a low voice, "Any progress on forming those Reserve transport regiments?"

"Yes. The East Sea Defense Zone is specifically in charge. They're helping Cosco and Zhonghai improve their Armed Forces Department construction. I heard the two companies didn't pay much attention to this in previous years, so they have to hurry and patch this short plank. Once the Armed Forces Departments of the various subsidiaries are established and personnel are in place, the Armed Forces Departments can pre‑recruit qualified cadres and employees into the Reserve, then form and organize the units."

"The Armed Forces Departments only handle recruitment. The military and political chiefs of those Reserve regiments also need to be appointed as soon as possible."

"Yes, sir!"

"By the way, is 'one-shot drunk' involved in the preparations?"

"He's not. He wouldn't dare go."

"He's experienced in Reserve work. How can he not be involved in the preparations?"

"There's someone even more experienced."

"Who?"

"A Navy officer at Commander rank who transferred to civilian work, already retired. His surname is Feng. He's served as director of the Binjiang Port Supervision Bureau and also worked at Cosco." The Chief of Staff craned his neck to look at the Navy generals sitting on the left, and added quietly, "He's very close with those few, seems to be an old comrade-in-arms."

The Reserve transport regiments now being formed would, when carrying out missions in the future, be under Navy command. But given that building up national defense reserve forces mainly depended on the Provincial Military District, guard districts, and local Armed Forces system, the superiors had decided that the Reserve transport regiments would be subordinate to the Army and under Army administration in peacetime.

The Military Region Commander was just thinking that having a retired Navy commander‑rank cadre lead the preparations might not be very appropriate when the Chief of Staff quietly added, "To make the work easier, the superiors had the East Sea Defense Zone issue that old comrade a set of Army Reserve uniform and an Army Reserve Lieutenant General Rank."

Doing the formation in the name of the Army—that was more like it.

As for that Reserve Major General insignia, just as the Chief of Staff said, it was only to make the work easier. The entire military didn't have any real Reserve Major Generals.

The Military Region Commander nodded in satisfaction, then thought of something and said in a low voice, "One-shot drunk works ships for a living; he's got plenty of experience in this field. Others can fool amateurs like you and me, but they can't fool an insider like him. When you go to inspect the preparation work in the future, remember to bring him along."