Chapter 350: Institutional Readjustment

Based on the different nature of the work—the degree of danger, difficulty, complexity, and so on—various subsidies were used to differentiate compensation, favoring those Transmigration members engaged in dangerous, arduous, and heavy-duty positions. To this end, in addition to the previously issued subsidies for danger, rural assignments, sea voyages, heavy physical labor, and high temperatures, a variety of new, intricately named subsidies were added. Not only was the scope of the subsidies greatly expanded, but the threshold for obtaining them was also lowered.

Regarding the issue of cadres using their authority to gain benefits from the natives, which had drawn significant public complaint, the Executive Committee stipulated that cadres were not allowed to privately accept gifts from the natives. All gifts presented by the natives had to be reported and turned over to the public. The nature of the gift would then determine its disposition. Gifts of small value or purely commemorative significance would be returned to the individual. For gifts of greater value that the cadre wished to keep, they would have to repurchase them by paying the market value in circulation coupons. If a native gifted a servant or woman to a cadre, not only would the cadre have to pay their price, but they would also have to undergo a political review by the General Political Security Department.

As for the cadre appointment mechanism, which had drawn the most intense criticism, the Executive Committee decided to adopt a public recruitment system. Each month, vacant positions would be posted on the BBS, specifying the nature of the position, its authority, compensation, and required qualifications. Anyone interested in the position could apply on their own and then undergo an assessment by the Organization Department and relevant departments. When necessary, a competitive selection process would be used.

“The Organization Department and the department with the vacancy will assess each registered candidate and select the most suitable one, who will then be publicly announced online,” Ma Qianzhan explained the plan he had drafted. “This way, no one will have anything to say.”

“If no one applies, the hiring department can make its own choice,” Wu De said. “But what if several of the applicants are not suitable, and the suitable person didn’t apply?”

“If they don’t apply, it means they’re not interested in the position. Even if you force them to do it, they won’t be very dedicated,” Wen Desi said. “Whether they have the ability is not a big problem. The key is to have interest and enthusiasm. If you don’t know something, you can learn it.”

“In that case, won’t the unsuccessful candidates have objections?” Zhan Wuya said. “Even elementary school students fight over being the class monitor, let alone being an official now!” He reminded everyone, “This so-called ‘no difference in treatment for cadres’ you’re promoting is actually useless! A senior cadre now will definitely be a high official in the future. A small clerk now will at most be an ordinary official in the future. Who doesn’t understand this little trick!”

“Use recruitment qualifications to limit it,” Ma Jia said. “Many positions inevitably require certain professional skills. You can’t hold them without those skills. This is a very simple principle, right? No one will have anything to say.”

“Hmph, there are plenty of laymen in leadership positions,” Wen Desi snorted. “How did Dugu Qiuhun get his position? He had no professional skills to speak of. Besides, having skills doesn’t mean you’re willing to do the work. It’s better to have someone with enthusiasm.”

“I think we can implement a civil service examination…” Cheng Dong continued to offer suggestions.

“Forget it. As soon as your idea comes out, you’ll be shot down,” Zhan Wuya said. “Haven’t we had enough exams?”

Xiao Zishan coughed. “Ultimately, what skills or conditions are needed is up to the recruiting department to decide…”

“Are you planning to tailor the requirements?” Wu De shook his head repeatedly. “That’s too clumsy. The elders will be up in arms.”

“Gentlemen, you’re all overthinking this,” Wen Desi said with a smiling shake of his head. “Recruitment qualifications, hiring standards, civil service exams—these are all products of ‘too many monks, too little porridge.’ When resources are scarce and you want to prioritize your own people, you come up with this stuff.” He picked up his large teacup and took several big gulps. “We just need to make more porridge.”

“Won’t an overly bloated bureaucracy lead to serious bureaucratism…”

“That’s a possibility,” Wen Desi said. “Even without ‘bloating,’ it has become very bureaucratic in the last six months. Lin Biguang gave me a list—it was a list of all the procedures he had to go through before he went to Qiongzhou, how many departments he had to visit, how many stamps he had to get. Anyone interested can take a look.” He changed the subject. “Anti-bureaucratism is a long-term issue. We won’t discuss it now.” He pointed to a pile of documents on the table.

“These are suggestions from comrades from various channels regarding the institutional setup. It should be said that every suggestion has its rationality and necessity. If all these institutions were to be established, how many cadres would we need?”

Ma Qianzhan coughed. “But it’s impossible to establish all of them—at this stage, there’s no need for them to be large and comprehensive.”

“If we were to establish all of them, even if we let children be leaders, it wouldn’t be enough,” Wen Desi said. “The position is not a problem. Sooner or later, everyone will get to be an official. For now, we should expand the organizational structure, absorb more capable people into leadership positions, which will be conducive to the overall harmony within the Transmigration Group.”

Everyone felt that President Wen’s idea of “making the porridge pot bigger” was a more suitable solution. It was a fundamental solution that addressed the problem at its source. Wen Desi continued:

“Let’s talk about institutional restructuring. The new leadership team has been formed, and with the new year comes a new atmosphere. The entire institution needs to be adjusted.”

According to the division of labor in the new Executive Committee, the committee conducted a comprehensive adjustment of the institutions. Part of the purpose of the adjustment was, of course, to “streamline relationships and improve operational efficiency.” Another part was to adjust the existing power structure to make it more balanced.

First, the Intelligence Committee, which had an unclear purpose and lacked full-time personnel, was abolished. A new Foreign Intelligence Bureau was established, specifically responsible for foreign intelligence work.

The General Legal Affairs Department, General Taxation Department, and General Industry and Commerce Department, which were originally under the Civil Affairs Committee and had basically played no role, were all abolished. The legal affairs of the natives were now handled by the Tribunal. The General Taxation Department was changed to the State Administration of Taxation, directly under the jurisdiction of the Central Government Council. As for the Industry and Commerce Department, after deliberation, it was deemed unnecessary. Its functions could be completely handed over to the tax authorities.

The original Internal Affairs Committee was abolished. Based on the experience of the past year, the Executive Committee believed that it was not appropriate to have a unified command of the powerful institutions, so as to avoid the emergence of a Himmler or Beria-like figure. Therefore, all of its subordinate departments were dismantled. The police headquarters was placed under the jurisdiction of the Central Government Council to show its “civil administration” nature. The General Administration of Customs was placed under the supervision of the Financial Controller. The General Political Security Department was renamed the General Bureau and placed under the jurisdiction of the Tribunal.

The Industry and Energy Committee was abolished. Its subordinate departments—the Ministry of Mechanical Industry, the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Metallurgy, and the Ministry of Light Industry—were placed under the jurisdiction of the Manufacturing Supervisor. A new Ministry of Science and Technology was established, responsible for research and development, design. In addition to reviving technology, the research department also had the task of finding substitutes and simplifying production processes.

The Foreign Affairs and Commerce Committee was abolished. Its subordinate Foreign Affairs Department, Foreign Trade Company, and overseas stations were placed under the supervision of the Colonial and Trade Officer. A new Ministry of Colonial Affairs was established to manage the colonies.

The Finance and Banking Committee was abolished and replaced by the Ministry of Finance, supervised by the Financial Controller. Delong Grain Company was officially renamed Delong Bank and would act as the central bank before a formal central bank was established. A new Monopoly Bureau was established. The Transmigration Group had already decided to implement a monopoly system for salt and tobacco.

“I have decided to resign from my position as Chief of the General Staff.” When discussing the new military structure, Ma Qianzhan submitted his resignation. “I am now the Secretary of State. There is no reason to continue holding a military post. I implore the Executive Committee to approve my resignation.”

The resignation was subsequently approved. The position of Chief of the General Staff in the Transmigration Group was equivalent to the commander-in-chief of the army and navy, with excessive power and influence. The elders generally believed that this position should not be held by a powerful figure in the Executive Committee. Ma Qianzhan, who was previously the People’s Commissar for Planning and was now the Secretary of State, was no longer suitable to be the Chief of the General Staff.

Under the new system, the General Staff was under the jurisdiction of the Military Affairs Supervisor. A joint meeting was established under the General Staff Department, attended by the chiefs of staff of the various military branches and the inspectors general of the branches. Its main functions were the coordination of the branches and joint staff work. The original Political Department of the Army Department was transferred to the General Staff Department and renamed the General Staff Political Department, responsible for the ideological and political work and propaganda of the entire army.

The army and navy implemented a system of separating military administration and military command. Neither the army nor the navy had a commander-in-chief position. The People’s Commissar for the Army and the People’s Commissar for the Navy were no longer the commanders of the past, but the administrative heads of the army, responsible for managing the military administration of the army and navy. Training and operations were the responsibility of the Army Chief of Staff and the Chief of Naval Operations. This system could effectively strengthen the management and restraint of the army.

Due to the huge consumption of materials by the army established by the Transmigration Group and the unprecedented demand for logistics in this era, a Logistics Command was established at the suggestion of the military to implement joint logistics management for the army and navy. At the same time, to meet the needs of the expanding army, a new Training Directorate was established to be responsible for the training of new recruits for the army and navy and the military training of laborers.

The Special Reconnaissance Team, which was originally under the army’s establishment, was now promoted to an independent agency, directly under the jurisdiction of the Military Affairs Supervisor, and in fact, under the direct command of the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee expected the Special Reconnaissance Team to not only complete its own duties, but also to serve as the Executive Committee’s praetorian guard and military police.

Ma Jia was a little surprised that the General Political Security Bureau was assigned to him. In his view, the Tribunal was a legal institution and did not need such a violent department. However, after thinking about Ma Qianzhan being the Secretary of State, he understood—the Executive Committee did not intend to let the Director-General control the most lethal department of “political security” after he had already controlled the police.

As for the institutional organization of the Tribunal, Ma Jia created a plan based on the suggestions submitted by everyone: three new professional courts were established: a civil court, a criminal court, and a public security court—Ma Jia believed that the police directly controlling the power of public security punishment had long-term drawbacks, so he imitated the system of some European and American countries and set up a public security court for the rapid trial of minor cases. The original maritime court was reorganized into a maritime-commercial court. A notary office and a “legal counsel office” were also established to accommodate the idle members of the law club.