Chapter 496 - Employing Personnel

What did this indicate? Lin Baiguang pondered the absence. Either these Brocade Guard officials were scrupulously law-abiding and had refused to be dragged into the mire by the Gou family, or the Gou family had deemed them insignificant enough to ignore.

Whether it was the former or the latter, Lin Baiguang could not be certain, nor did he have time to investigate further. He still had numerous arrangements to make.

He proceeded to establish the Qiongzhou Prefecture Intelligence Station. This organization, which had so terrified Ma Benyuan, was in reality a castle in the air. Lin Baiguang possessed nothing but a paper plan and three hundred taels of station-building funds approved by the Intelligence Committee.

As for the intelligence agents stationed locally, he decided to serve as station chief himself for the interim to guide the work personally. While numerous short-term training programs—such as the intelligence work training class—were underway, the students were generally too young. Asking such adolescents to take charge of a sector alone was obviously unfeasible.

Lin Baiguang harbored private complaints regarding the Executive Committee's preference for cultivating only native teenagers for key positions. Adolescents certainly offered the advantages of receptivity and ease of indoctrination, but blindly emphasizing youth resulted in a dearth of key cadres capable of managing the bigger picture. In his view, loyalty could not be forged by brainwashing alone.

Just as there is no love or hate without reason, there is no loyalty without cause. To compel genuine loyalty from subordinates, one must provide sufficient tangible benefits, secure them psychologically, and—preferably—raise an idealistic banner for them to follow. With this three-pronged approach, most people could be managed effectively. Loyal hearts did not necessarily require children to achieve.

The transmigrator group's treatment of native employees had already generated considerable loyalty. There was only one point Lin Baiguang found lacking: the banner of idealism.

Thus far, the transmigrator group had not proposed a clear ideology. While using the shell of the Great Ming as camouflage was convenient and safe—offsetting the "rebellion" concerns of many natives—from another perspective, it extinguished the hope necessary to attract ambitious individuals. In any spacetime, there existed a large cohort dissatisfied with the existing order, eager for change but lacking the ability to raise a call to arms or become local warlords.

If someone could offer them such an opportunity, this group would explode with tremendous energy, striving for things unattainable under the old order. When drinking with surrendered pirates, Lin Baiguang had heard them ask more than once what the Australians planned for the future. Almost everyone hoped the Australians would one day raise their flag and fire their cannons to contend for the Central Plains, allowing them to become founding generals and bring honor to their wives and children.

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom proclaiming kingships immediately after taking Yong'an felt overly hasty to later historians, but the parties involved had relished the feeling of being generals and ministers. It fully demonstrated the leadership's determination to "carry the revolution to the end," massively boosting morale.

The Executive Committee deliberated that obscuring their intentions like this was safer, but it was detrimental to morale, easily allowing everyone to fall into a state of petty satisfaction. If the Boss harbored no ambition, how could he recruit capable followers? Oda Nobunaga on the four islands of Japan had known to carve a seal reading "Tenka Fubu"—Spread Military Rule Under Heaven—stamping it everywhere to let the world know his ambition.

He resolved to discuss this line of thought with the Executive Committee upon his return, urging them to raise the banner of ideology. Furthermore, regarding personnel usage, the current system was overly rigid—stricter than the Communist Party back in the day—which hindered operations.

Lin Baiguang's philosophy of personnel management was eclectic. Regardless of a person's type, as long as they could be useful to him, they should be used—provided, of course, they could be controlled. He believed this reflected a leader's true skill. He scoffed at the Executive Committee's method of checking if someone was "reliable" and possessed a "clean history" before taking any action. Of course, he would never voice these views openly. Just as he never discussed his opinions on the conduct of certain county committee members in the past.

For the staffing of the Qiongzhou Prefecture Intelligence Station, he selected Gao Di.

In terms of seniority, Gao Di counted as a "veteran" among all native employees. He had served as an intelligence agent in Guangzhou for a period, qualifying as a senior operative. Intelligent and intimately familiar with the ways of the street, he was an ideal candidate for espionage.

However, the man was too clever and flexible. Coupled with his seniority and unique status—legally, he remained Wen Desi's domestic slave—he posed challenges. Being the domestic slave of the Executive Committee Chairman conferred a status that allowed one to look down on others. Consequently, Gao Di inevitably displayed arrogance, becoming an unpopular figure. After returning from the Foshan trip with Huang Tianyu and Liu San—where he had timely exposed Qianqian's true colors, earning merit and commendation—he had been quietly "sidelined" within the department. No missions were assigned; no share in training was given. He had appeared rather depressed for some time.

Lin Baiguang believed Gao Di possessed the talent for intelligence work, and his loyalty wasn't lacking. His current predicament stemmed simply from arrogance and high self-esteem incurring the jealousy of others. Such people were highly motivated; as long as medals and commendations were issued liberally, he would risk his life.

Lin Baiguang believed Gao Di possessed more drive than other natives and must be utilized. The reason lay precisely in the fact that his family had "followed the dragon" earliest but now fared significantly worse than latecomers. His parents had been ordinary commune members upon arrival, assigned daily tasks by production team leaders. Later, through Xiao Zishan's arrangement, they were transferred to the small kitchen. His sister had achieved some success but wasn't Wang Luobin's life secretary. Clearly, this disparity served as a powerful stimulus to Gao Di.

As for the other candidate, it was Chen Tong, Gao Di's companion during the Foshan trip. Chen Tong was a top student from the first term of the intelligence work study class and had been interning at the Intelligence Committee. He was considered an elite element of the future intelligence front, viewed favorably by everyone.

Elite or fanatic, Lin Baiguang planned to use Qiongzhou Prefecture as the stage to test their actual capabilities.

He returned to his quarters in the temple, where Chen Tong and Gao Di awaited him. When Lin Baiguang had gone out earlier, he had deliberately given them no instructions, handing each one tael of silver as pocket money.

Qiongzhou Prefecture was a far more bustling world of flowers and wine than Lingao. Both were fifteen or sixteen-year-old teenagers, naturally at an active age. With money and free time, whether they could restrain themselves and wait quietly in the temple for his return was a simple test.

Evidently, both possessed enough patience to wait for his orders. Lin Baiguang summoned them into his room.

The first priority was securing a location for the intelligence station. This Qiongzhou Prefecture Intelligence Station would need to operate for at least three or four years; it could not rely on rented rooms in a temple. A secure base was essential.

Qiewei already maintained an inn here, but Lin Baiguang decided against incorporating Qiewei's branch into the intelligence network. If the intelligence station were compromised, the negative impact on Qiewei would be too great, potentially affecting operations elsewhere. Moreover, the transmigrator group had not yet achieved full controlling interest in Qiewei, so many matters could not be exposed to them.

As for using the Runshitang Pharmacy brand—although it was almost completely controlled by the Health Department, the reality that Runshitang was known as a Lingao shop could not be avoided. Using its name would arouse suspicion among those already vigilant against "Lingao."

He decided to acquire existing local property for use.

"Gao Di, go find a way to secure a house. Renting or buying are both acceptable," Lin Baiguang instructed. "It will be used for the intelligence station."

Gao Di had often navigated the markets of Guangzhou, so such tasks should have been simple. However, as a Guangzhou native, his speech marked him as an outsider here. The habit of bullying outsiders was universal, past and present—compounded by the fact that "house brokers" were mostly tough old scoundrels. Whether Gao Di could handle it depended on his ability.

"Yes, Chief." Gao Di asked, "What is the budget? What scale? Any special requirements?"

"The budget is modest—only one hundred taels," Lin Baiguang said. "This house is for the future intelligence station. What kind of house to choose is up to you."

Lin Baiguang believed that finding a house for an intelligence station required more than mere eloquence and social skill. One needed vision—only by comprehensively considering the nature of upcoming intelligence work could one select a suitable property. This was a test of the boy's ability.

"Whether buying, pawning, or renting, it cannot be resolved in a day or two," Gao Di noted. "It will take about ten days..."

"I leave the matter entirely to you. You have full authority. Here is twenty taels of silver for your activity funds." Lin Baiguang deliberately offered no further instructions. Hands off completely.

If Gao Di botched it, the cost would be merely some wasted silver. Appointing the wrong person would have far graver consequences. The role of personnel in intelligence work was simply too critical.

"Yes, I'll go check the market immediately."

After assigning the housing task, he instructed Chen Tong to investigate a person.

"This person is named Hai Shuzu, a local from a prominent family. Find out the details of his family situation." He handed Chen Tong twenty taels of silver. "Your activity fund."

"I'll go right away." Chen Tong nodded earnestly and accepted the silver.

Hai Shuzu came from a prominent local clan; the Hai family was famous here. Inquiring about his general situation wouldn't cost much. However, intelligence came in generic varieties and precious insider information. This task depended on Chen Tong's ability to collect intelligence of value.

"I will give you ten days."

(End of Chapter)