Chapter 201: The Crux of the Problem

Why did everyone have to embark on this path of infinite expansion? Yi Fan concluded that the main reason was the Senate’s rather unclear positioning and mission for the external stations.

Most of the external stations were institutions that handled intelligence, commerce, administration, logistics, and even military affairs all at once. Although organizationally, they were under the dual jurisdiction of the Department of Colonization and Trade and the Foreign Intelligence Bureau, and in places like Jeju Island and Kaohsiung, also under the leadership of the People’s Committee for Civil Affairs, in actual operation, almost all the agencies under the Executive Committee had business dealings with the external stations.

Such business dealings were not limited to the Executive Committee level. In fact, the business contacts between the various external stations and the ministries and commissions in Lingao were more frequent and numerous. Almost all Lingao ministries and commissions had issued documents and instructions to the external stations. In Lingao’s political system, the external stations were in a typical state of “nine dragons managing the water,” where everyone could manage them, but no one was responsible.

Yi Fan had taken the opportunity of auditing the accounts to personally conduct a business contact investigation at the Kaohsiung station. He found that almost all central agencies in Lingao had business dealings with the Kaohsiung station. Even though Kaohsiung was not currently tasked with mechanical industrial production, the Kaohsiung station, under the pretext of ship maintenance, still demanded that the mechanical sector establish a considerable-scale machinery manufacturing plant there.

If one were to talk about violations, establishing a machinery repair plant in Kaohsiung was in itself a violation, because it did not exist in the basic project plan for Kaohsiung. However, this project still received retroactive approval because, in the tasks assigned to Kaohsiung, it was also an important transit base for population and goods, and a major naval port.

Since it was positioned as a home port, ship repair and maintenance would involve some demand for machinery manufacturing and repair. Thus, establishing a machinery plant in Kaohsiung became logical, and the Planning院 had to add it as a project retroactively.

This extended to other areas as well. The latest industrial construction project in Kaohsiung was a sulfur refinery. At the same time, trade with the mountain aborigines had to be expanded to support it. This project was also not in the original specific plan for Kaohsiung’s construction. Its sudden proposal was directly related to the industrial sector. The chemical industry urgently needed a large amount of sulfur to expand sulfuric acid production. The supply from the local Wanning pyrite mine in Hainan was nearly exhausted. In the short term, the only sources that could supply a large amount of sulfur, besides the foreign trade channels from Japan, were from Taiwan. Thus, Kaohsiung, which was originally intended to be a shipping port and agricultural development base, was given the additional resource task of sulfur collection.

Because the responsibilities and positioning of the external stations were vague, and there was no specific regulation to stipulate how the liaison and cooperation between the external stations and the ministries and commissions should operate, this gave the Elders at the external stations enormous room for power maneuvering, making “getting on the bus first and buying the ticket later” an inertial measure for the operation of the external stations. And the various ministries and commissions regarded the external stations as “experimental plots” and a great place to expand their own department’s performance. They secretly supported this practice of the external stations. The external stations, long suffering from a shortage of talent, materials, and funds, were very welcoming of any “business” from the ministries and commissions. They would even proactively seek out projects to feed back to the ministries and commissions.

The tasks assigned to the external stations by the Executive Committee were too large and too broad, while the resources given were quite few. Some tasks required a large investment of funds and manpower, and the small amount of appropriation was simply not enough. But if the external stations wanted to apply for additional investment, not only was the approval process long, but the amount was also very limited. Thus, in order to boost performance, a situation of “giving policy instead of resources” would emerge. Yi Fan believed this was the most dangerous.

History has proven that “giving policy instead of resources” is often the source of many evils. Many of the problems criticized in another time-space accumulated from this opening of “giving policy.”

Although Yi Fan called himself “Cheka,” he was still an accountant at heart. Cook as much rice as you have. Act within your means. This was always his guiding principle. But now, the overall situation in Lingao was “Great Leap Forward” style. Manpower, materials, funds, and equipment were all about “maximizing efficiency.” In fact, they were playing a game of covering seven pots with eight lids. From the central to the local level, everyone was thinking of the trick of “catching a white wolf with bare hands.” As the saying goes, what the superiors like, the subordinates will surely emulate.

The main responsibility for the problems of the external stations lay with the Executive Committee and the Senate. If the basic relationships of the external stations, such as their affiliation, power, and responsibilities, were not sorted out, no amount of rectification would be effective. Changing people and abolishing projects were only temporary solutions. First of all, direct business contact between the external stations and the central ministries and commissions should be prohibited. Secondly, the positioning and mission objectives of each external station should be clearly defined, and they should not be allowed to start projects on their own in violation of regulations, especially those “looks beautiful” self-funded projects. Sometimes, it was necessary to even scale back some projects.

However, to persuade the Executive Committee and the Senate to make large-scale adjustments, sufficient materials were needed. Yi Fan considered focusing this inspection on cleaning up the irregular projects of the external stations first.

“In short, the problem of the external stations is a systemic problem,” Yi Fan roared deafeningly in his cabin.

“Sir, this is a notice from the General Office.” Fenghua placed the latest stack of letters and telegrams on his desk.

“Thank you. Go and call Zhao Tong.”

“He’s already here, waiting outside.”

“Let him in.”

Zhao Yigong looked a little dejected at the “circular telegram” from the General Office to the external stations placed on top. He knew without opening it that this was the notice informing them that the inspection team had set off.

He had known about the inspection team’s arrival for a long time. Private letters from Lingao had been keeping him informed, and he was always clear about the movements of the Executive Committee and the Senate.

Overall, the situation was not very good. Especially since the main culprit, Hao Yuan, had not yet been caught.

He sighed, opened the telegram, and saw that the leading group leader was Yi Fan. A chill immediately ran down his spine.

He was not familiar with Yi Fan, but his famous quote “drag the Elders out to be shot” was deafeningly familiar to him. People who were clearly determined to use human blood to dye their official hats red were the most terrifying. Then he saw Dai Xie, and immediately had an unpleasant association with his position. Finally, he saw a relatively insignificant name, but when he saw “General Political Security Bureau,” his heart skipped a beat.

This combination was really unsettling. “This isn’t a prelude to directly ‘shuanggui-ing’ me, is it?” Zhao Yigong worried secretly.

He continued to read. The inspection route reported by the inspection team was: Kaohsiung - Hangzhou - Shandong - Jeju Island - Japan - Guangzhou - Leizhou. The first inspection site was not Hangzhou. Before Zhao Yigong could continue to savor the meaning behind this, Zhao Tong had already walked in.

“How is the progress?”

“We haven’t found the wanted person yet,” Zhao Tong said. “We have sent out all our men, the yamen has issued sea-wide arrest warrants, and portraits have been drawn and posted everywhere to capture him. However, the Zhan Gan Chu has found some valuable clues on Jia Le, Cao Guangjiu, and ‘Shi Weng,’ and are pursuing them.”

“If he hides in Hangzhou city and doesn’t come out, we won’t be able to catch him no matter how much we try,” Zhao Yigong said with a frown. “What about the lead on the escorts?”

“We have found some materials on them in Hangzhou and sent them to the Beijing station. We haven’t received a specific reply yet.” Zhao Tong hesitated for a moment and then said, “But it’s best if we send our own people to investigate this matter.”

“You write a report to the Intelligence Bureau, explain the current situation and our plan, and apply to send people to the capital. Whether we can get things done recently is another matter, but the procedures must be complete!”

“Yes.”

“Good, you can go first. These things must be hurried!” Zhao Yigong rubbed his head. There was no progress at all. He thought for a moment and then picked up the pile of private letters under the telegram. For confidentiality reasons, the private letters between Elders did not have the sender’s and recipient’s names on the envelope, only a code to indicate the recipient.

He had never had so many private letters. Zhao Yigong was considered to have a wide circle of acquaintances in Lingao, and after being dispatched, he had tried his best to maintain contact with his acquaintances in Lingao. Therefore, there were many private letters coming and going. But recently, the number of private letters from Lingao had suddenly increased dramatically. Some were from acquaintances, some were not, and some were simply anonymous letters.

One was directly signed “An Upright Elder,” and it started with a direct scolding: “You, Zhao Yigong, Eunuch Zhao, Emperor Zhao, what a mess have you been doing in Hangzhou? Confusing priorities, putting the cart before the horse, acting on your own, being self-righteous, hobnobbing with those native officials and gentry, don’t forget your identity, and don’t forget your mission! Touch your pig head and think hard, what is your real mission? Okay, let’s not talk about other missions for now. You, Eunuch Zhao, guarding Hangzhou, the place with the richest resources of beautiful women in Jiangnan, have achieved nothing in the procurement of maids. You, on the other hand, have the advantage of being close to the water. I heard you have gathered hundreds of young girls in your so-called charity school for ‘training’? What do you mean? Do you want to eat alone or do you want to create a personality cult and set up your own shop? Why aren’t these hundreds of children sent to Lingao? Is the teaching level of Lingao’s Fangcaodi worse than your charity school? It’s no injustice to say that you are occupying the latrine without shitting. Look at that Quark Qiong, a slave trader who traveled thousands of miles and spent the same amount of time to bring back nearly two hundred ‘Western horses’ for the Senate. And you? You still have the face to blow your own horn and cry foul…”

Another offered a “rational suggestion”: “For the smooth progress of the Hangzhou station’s work, to reduce unnecessary resistance from Lingao and gain more support, it is suggested that Comrade Zhao Yigong vigorously purchase virgins who meet the aesthetic standards or special tastes of the Elders, and hire famous courtesans and madams from Jiangnan as teachers for training (it is best to keep one or two with bound feet, as some Elders have a taste for that). Our purpose is to protect classical Chinese beauties and preserve traditional high-class culture with world heritage significance. You know the specific requirements and standards…”