Chapter 445: The Appointment

He had lunch at the trading post’s restaurant and then returned directly to Bairen City. Liu Xiang first made a trip back to the Senatorial apartment complex. Although he was away from Lingao year-round, just like a room in the Kremlin, he still occupied an apartment.

Since it had been uninhabited for a long time, it wasn’t suitable for immediate move-in, despite the General Office’s service staff cleaning and airing it out weekly. So, Guo Ling’er and her daughter were still staying at the guesthouse; only their luggage had been brought over.

Liu Xiang looked around the apartment he had never lived in. It was fully furnished, but lacked daily necessities like pots and pans. Besides the things brought back from Qiongshan, he would need to buy more supplies, and the place needed a thorough cleaning… all of which the General Office had already arranged.

He had already considered it: it would be better for his family to stay in Lingao while he went to Guangzhou. Once Guangzhou was “liberated,” his workload would undoubtedly increase tenfold, even a hundredfold. Bringing his wife and child along would be inconvenient and a distraction. Besides, without his adorable daughter around, he could take the opportunity to consider the matter of a second secretary…

After dealing with his domestic affairs, he immediately went to the Organization Department to report in.

Ming Lang looked at Director Liu before him, his heart filled with conflict. According to organizational principles, the Organization Department held the most sway over personnel appointments. But when it came to the “Senator” class, many of these principles were utterly shattered. In particular, his Organization Department had no real control over the appointment of naturalized cadres—that was all under the purview of the Ministry of Civil Affairs’ Human Resources Department.

The result was that his Organization Department, much like its Old World counterpart, had become a department that merely processed paperwork.

A convention had already formed: “The Organization Department expresses an intention, a Senator volunteers, the vertical departments make direct appointments, and the heads of the horizontal departments approach people.” In Liu Xiang’s case, he was nominally just “reporting back to the capital.” The person currently in the Qiongshan County office was only an “acting deputy.” Although an “intention of appointment” for the Guangzhou post already existed, they still had to respect his personal wishes before making a public announcement.

The resolution to militarily occupy the Pearl River Delta region had only been made in the last week. The initial plan was an unattractive model of an “underground government.” Not to mention, the long-discussed forum topics of full funding, moving the capital, and “reaping the rewards” had scared many away.

Although Guangzhou was set to be the richest and most prosperous region under the Senate’s rule, the difficulty of the work there would likely surpass that of any other directly-ruled territory. There were plenty of people who wanted to be feudal lords, but most were unwilling to do the pioneering work.

After the Organization Department announced its intentions for the Guangzhou local government, the response was sparse. Some wanted to go but were clearly unqualified. Subsequently, Ming Lang held talks with several more suitable Senators, but everyone who received the offer explicitly refused. The tragedy was that the Organization Department was powerless to do anything about it.

Ming Lang got straight to the point: “Regarding the Organization Department’s proposal to adjust your post, what are your thoughts?”

“I will follow the organization’s arrangements,” Liu Xiang nodded. Since he had to go, he might as well agree decisively.

Ming Lang was visibly relieved. He said nothing, simply stood up and shook Liu Xiang’s hand.

“Congratulations, then.”

“The burden on my shoulders is heavy.” Although he had already decided to take the post in Guangzhou, actually accepting it made him feel the weight on his shoulders.

“You can rest assured on that point. Guangzhou is different from other counties; it’s the first major city under our rule, and the support given will be different. There will certainly be policy adjustments as well.”

“The new Guangzhou Municipal Government, will it only govern Guangzhou City, or will it include the subordinate counties?”

“For now, it includes the subordinate counties. However, your work will be centered on the two counties of the Guangzhou prefectural city, Nanhai and Panyu,” Ming Lang said. “I can give you the inside scoop: the Executive Committee’s current thinking on local administration is for provinces to manage counties. So, once the situation stabilizes, Guangzhou will be established as a separate municipality.”

“That’s good. I’ve looked at the data. Guangzhou Prefecture has fifteen counties and one subprefecture. Even excluding the attached counties, that’s still fourteen county-level units. The burden would be too great.”

“You don’t need to worry about that. The Executive Committee has already instructed our department to arrange for enough Senator cadres for you.” Ming Lang took out a copy of the “Organizational Outline for the Guangzhou Provisional Management Committee (Draft).” “You can take a look.”

“Is this the final decision?” Liu Xiang asked.

“No, as the highest administrative official of Guangzhou, you can express your views on personnel. If you insist that a certain Senator cannot be appointed, it’s not out of the question. State Councilor Ma’s instruction is that ‘the primary task of the leadership team is to maintain unity.’”

Liu Xiang opened the folder. In the draft, candidates for the “vertical” departments like Justice, Taxation, Police, and Political Security were either already listed or noted as “to be selected separately by the Organization Department.” He skimmed over the names. Some he knew, others he didn’t. However, since there were only so many people in the Senate, he had at least some idea of each person’s situation.

“What about these positions without specific appointments?”

“As the chief administrator, you can make recommendations. Of course, whether they are selected still requires the approval of the Organization Department, and the individual must also be willing…”

Liu Xiang quickly asked the most crucial question: “What about the people from the original Guangzhou Station? Can they continue to work in the new leadership team?”

“The same principles as above apply,” Ming Lang added. “Guo Yi is not included; he has another appointment.”

Just as I thought! Liu Xiang nodded. But he still had to try: “Guo Yi is our number one agent in Guangzhou. Won’t his departure shake the confidence of our business partners…”

“With you, the Guangzhou Municipal Government, backing them, it shouldn’t,” Ming Lang said. “Frankly, his continued presence would be inappropriate for him and inconvenient for you to carry out your work.”

Guo Yi was the head of the old Guangzhou Station. With a new leader now above him, he probably wouldn’t feel comfortable. As they say, “the primary task of the leadership team is unity.”

“Alright. Actually, I think he’s more suitable than I am…”

“He has repeatedly requested to no longer serve as the head of the Guangzhou Station,” Ming Lang said. “As for the other Senators, I can’t be sure if they will agree to stay on. Tell me your specific retention requirements, and I will talk to them one by one.”

“One last question, how will the finances work? Will it be everyone eating from the same pot, or will each department be responsible for its own budget?”

“There’s no final decision on that yet, so for now, it’s the full appropriation model—”

“Damn…” Liu Xiang couldn’t help but say. That bizarre system of full appropriation had been the bane of his existence, practically forcing him to “run to the ministries” for funding. For an administrative leader with no ambition, it was an easy way to get by, but while it might work for a small place like Changhua with less than ten thousand people, it was highly unsuitable for a large county like Qiongshan, let alone the future Guangzhou City.

“Don’t you worry. After the Third Plenary Session, a new fiscal and tax system will definitely be established. We won’t be using the full appropriation model anymore,” Ming Lang said. “The Finance and Economics Office and the State Council have held several meetings; the specifics are still being worked out.”

“That’s good. Otherwise, needing central funding for even building bridges and paving roads is just too inconvenient,” Liu Xiang nodded repeatedly. “Thank you for your trouble.”

“Not at all, not at all. You’re bravely shouldering a heavy responsibility.”

After leaving the Organization Department, he returned home, quickly opened his computer, and browsed the forum posts to see what the general mood was and what the recent hot topics were.

Besides some posts that intentionally or unintentionally revealed certain biases, there was actually a lot of good stuff on the forum, especially some with a wicked sense of humor. In this world, the transmigrators were the greatest prophets, especially with their minimal interference in Europe, which made their prophetic abilities seem even more potent. Liu Xiang saw one such post in a show-off thread by someone from the Colonial Trade Department.

“Duke John of Braganza, known as ‘John the Restorer,’ the future John IV, married Luísa de Guzmán, the eldest daughter of the 8th Duke of Medina Sidonia, Juan Manuel Pérez de Guzmán el Bueno, in 1633. Our Colonial Trade Department certainly wouldn’t miss it. Even if we couldn’t be there in person, the gift had to arrive. I just wonder, what expression will be on the Duke’s face when that exquisite, sealed gift box, after a year-long journey in the hands of the Jesuits, is finally delivered to him and he opens it to see the message ‘And congratulations on the birth of the young Duke Theodosius’? Are the mysterious Australians from the Far East prophets or devils? Is their extended hand of aid divine guidance or demonic temptation? Pushing John IV to launch the Portuguese Restoration War ahead of schedule will be the first flap of our butterfly wings in Europe…”

Reading this, Liu Xiang couldn’t help but smile. Skade’s department didn’t have it easy either! Hmm… foreign trade… let’s see… ah, found it.

“Although our main export commodities have made a name for themselves in Europe, our major trading partners’ transport strategies all adopt a ‘half-way’ trade model. That is, they procure the raw materials we need from their colonies in East Africa and India, and after the transaction, they stockpile our industrial goods in Ceylon (contested by the Portuguese and Dutch), Goa (Portuguese), and Mombasa (Portuguese), while the Spanish pile them up in Manila, waiting for the fleets from the Americas…”

“The Ottoman Sultan Murad IV is currently fighting the Safavid Shah Safi in the Basra-Baghdad region and has the upper hand. The successor to Abbas the Great is performing poorly. Historically, he will be completely defeated by 1639 and cede Mesopotamia… Therefore, British procurement in Basra has been greatly affected…”

By that calculation, the expected shipping bottleneck is about to appear! It seems my tea ships are being launched at the right time! However, given this international situation, and considering the Thirty Years’ War in Europe itself, perhaps the industrial sector could also develop some export-model firearms? At the very least, we could help Europe phase out their old matchlock muskets. If the Nanyang-style rifle is too advanced, I wonder if the Foshan-made flintlocks would be suitable?