Chapter 1389 The overall situation
The cooperation between the Shandong Garrison and the Ministry of Security has always been relatively smooth, and the military's personal relationship with Hao Wanqing is not bad, but this does not mean that the two camps will completely open their hearts to each other. Regarding the leak of investigative intelligence, Chen Yixin had his own plans, and did not want Liu Shang's appearance to disrupt the existing deployment. Although he had chosen this candidate by name, when he learned through certain channels that Ma Bo had been entertaining the new propaganda officer at his home from noon to evening yesterday, he felt it was necessary to ask his secretary Zeng Xiaowen to come forward and say hello to Liu Shang. .
The reason why the person who greeted Liu Shang and not Ma Bo was because Chen Yixin was not completely ignorant of the situation in the immigration camp. He didn't want to do something that would alarm the enemy at this time, so he didn't even plan to call Liu Shang to his office for a face-to-face discussion. Instead, he handed over the errands of contacting him to his secretary. Although such a roundabout approach was not in line with the military's style of doing things and might even cause Liu Shang to misunderstand, Chen Yixin trusted Zeng Xiaowen's ability to handle matters and he knew that his subordinate would be able to handle this issue properly.
Zeng Xiaowen is actually no stranger to this kind of work. Solving problems for his boss has always been his specialty. Although his current job title has been changed from Master to Secretary, and his camp has been changed from Daming to Haihan, the nature of his work has not fundamentally changed. The only difference is that in the past, he mostly gave advice to his boss in the yamen and rarely appeared in public. But now, as Chen Yixin's secretary, he has to step in to solve some difficult problems on behalf of his boss.
However, Zeng Xiaowen would not complain about having to do some dirty work under Chen Yixin. He knew very well how high the status of this young senior officer was in the Haihan Army. Being able to become Chen Yixin's confidant and handle troubles for him would have been a good idea. It's a huge amount of trust. Chen Yixin's personal future is naturally tied to his official career. While working for his boss, he is also gaining more promotion capital for himself.
Zeng Xiaowen was not in a hurry to go to the immigration camp to call Liu Shang out to complain. He knew that Chen Yixin's order was not that urgent. He first used his time to complete other tasks at hand, and it was not until it was close to lunch that he set off leisurely.
There is no canteen in the immigration camp, and the immigrants' two meals a day are prepared in Majiazhuang and delivered to them. There is a large canteen here, which not only supplies food to the immigration camp, but also provides food for the local garrison and other Haihan staff here. At lunch time, Liu Shang should also come here to have a meal. Of course, if he still chooses to have three meals at Ma Bo's house today, then Zeng Xiaowen may need to reconsider his opinion of Liu Shang.
In fact, Ma Bo really planned to invite Liu Shang back home for lunch, but this time Liu Shang declined his request. On the one hand, Liu Shang has noticed that Ma Bo may have some serious problems in the work of managing the immigration camp, and he should not get too close to him; on the other hand, he does not want to give the outside world the impression that he has just arrived in Majiazhuang. , it gives the illusion of wearing the same pants as Ma Bo. To be honest, he actually regrets a little now. He shouldn't have agreed to Ma Bo to live in his home casually. It's hard to find an excuse to move out now. What Liu Shang can do now is to maintain a reasonable distance from Ma Bo and reduce personal contacts outside of work.
There were not many people in the cafeteria at this time. Liu Shang served the food on a tray and found an empty table. As soon as he sat down, someone else sat down in the seat opposite him. Liu Shang took a look and saw that the man opposite him was in his thirties, had an ordinary appearance, and was wearing a gray army uniform.
After the man sat down, he took the initiative to say hello: "Director Liu, we have met before."
Liu Shang's memory was already very good. At this time, he recognized the other party's identity. He nodded and said: "I met at the banquet on Zhifu Island the day before yesterday. I remember that you are the person next to Chief Chen. I haven't asked for advice yet?"
"I'm Zeng Xiaowen, Chief Chen's secretary." The man opposite introduced himself.
"Oh, it turns out to be Secretary Zeng. I'm sorry. I was transferred from Zhifu Island yesterday. Please take care of Secretary Zeng in the future!" Liu Shang has been in Haihan for half a year. Of course, he knows the nature of a secretary's job. He also noticed that his table was not the only empty seat in the canteen. The other person obviously did not sit across from him casually, but had some purpose.
"Director Liu is so polite." Zeng Xiaowen was also slightly surprised. At the celebration banquet the day before yesterday, he was not actually at the same table as Chen Yixin. After all, there were differences between master and slave. He was not qualified enough to sit down and chat with the military bosses. . Only when Chen Yixin and other senior military officials got up and went to each table to toast, he took the wine bottle and followed closely behind, taking advantage of the opportunity to pour wine for Chen Yixin. He just stood behind a group of high-ranking military officials and did not say a word to Liu Shang, but the other party could accurately remember his identity. This observation and memory can be said to be quite good. Recalling that this person's file mentioned a specialty such as "excellent memory", his performance fits this description very well.
"Director Liu, how do you feel about your first day working here?" Zeng Xiaowen asked casually, like a usual conversation between an old employee and a new colleague.
Liu Shang didn't know the other party's intention, but he was always cautious. In addition, the other party was someone close to Chen Yixin, and his level must be much higher than that of an outsider like himself, so he couldn't refuse to answer. He wasn't sure whether the other person's question was out of casual concern or to report information back to Chen Yixin, so he chose to respond in a very official manner: "Fortunately, I have done similar work before, so I am relatively familiar with it."
"Is life still convenient? When you came to report yesterday, I happened to be away for something and didn't have time to arrange food and accommodation for you. I heard that Boss Ma arranged for you to live in his house?" Zeng Xiaowen continued to ask.
"Boss Ma arranged it very well. Thank you for Secretary Zeng's trouble." Liu Shang originally wanted to take this opportunity to propose moving out of Ma's house, but he was unsure of the other party's attitude and swallowed his words.
Regarding Liu Shang's impeccable answer, Zeng Xiaowen suddenly felt that the person he was dealing with was not a newcomer to the officialdom who had been in Haihan for less than a year and was recruited as an official for only half a year, but a thoughtful and experienced veteran. The other party did not brag about his work ability, nor did he deliberately show humility. He responded to his concern calmly, politely, neither humble nor overbearing, and his expression and tone were well-measured.
It is said that before he was recruited by the government, he was just a storyteller in a teahouse. Zeng Xiaowen couldn't help but wonder, could this kind of calmness be the temperament honed by working as an official in Sanya for half a year?
Zeng Xiaowen was just dazed for a moment, and then quickly returned to work. No matter how the other party was in Sanya, this is Shandong, and the environment is very different from that in Haihan. Perhaps the other party should realize this as soon as possible. Zeng Xiaowen said: "Fushan County has been managed by our military for more than a year, so the people here are accustomed to obeying the military's instructions. If Director Liu finds that there are government orders that are not followed at work, If you have any problems, you can report it to me and I will try my best to solve the problem for you.”
Liu Shang put down the chopsticks in his hand very slowly and as naturally as possible. Although he was obviously hungry due to the one-hour lecture in the morning, the secretary to the chief minister sat in front of him at this time and place. After saying hello, he did not end the topic. Liu Shang realized that the other party was really interested in him. purpose, he decided to concentrate on dealing with Zeng Xiaowen first.
Before entering Haihan, although Liu Shang worked in the public sector, he was not a member of the officialdom. If we want to accurately define it, perhaps a person in the world would be more suitable for his positioning. But since he was recruited by the Haihan Propaganda Department, he has entered the officialdom, and quickly learned all kinds of officialdom common sense, as well as the obscure communication skills between bureaucrats. There was nothing wrong with what Zeng Xiaowen said, but after Liu Shang went through it word for word in his mind, he felt that the other party seemed to be reminding him of something.
It's a pity that Liu Shang still didn't understand after chewing it for a while. Seeing Zeng Xiaowen's eyes lingering on his face, obviously waiting for his reply, but he couldn't fully understand the meaning of these words. To be on the safe side, he chose to use the official Respond to the other party in a tone of voice: "Thank you, Secretary Zeng, for your concern."
After hearing this, Zeng Xiaowen shook his head slightly, knowing that Liu Shang probably didn't understand the spirit, so he had to put it more bluntly: "The situation in the immigration camp here may be different from where Director Liu worked before, so if Director Liu feels If you have any questions, you might as well come and talk to me first.”
Liu Shang was shocked when he heard this, and wondered whether Chen Yixin's secretary was actually Ma Bo's accomplice, and he deliberately found this opportunity to warn him? If it is true, then the matter in Majiazhuang will not be so easy to deal with. Liu Shang naturally has a hundred ways to deal with a rich country man like Ma Bo who doesn't understand the rules and has never seen the market. But if Ma Bo's main messenger is Zeng Xiaowen, who has a high status and special status within Haihan, Official, then this matter may not be something he can handle.
Zeng Xiaowen did not expect that Liu Shang would already notice the abnormal situation in the immigration camp on the first day he officially started working after coming to Majiazhuang. His warning to Liu Shang was certainly not to protect Ma Bo or others, but for some reasons that needed to be kept secret, so that Liu Shang should not act rashly while working in the immigration camp, so as not to damage the military's arrangements. But Liu Shang obviously did not realize such a deep-seated reason, and directly misunderstood Zeng Xiaowen's warning as another meaning.
Liu Shang's hesitant reaction was also noticed by Zeng Xiaowen, which was obviously different from his previous calm performance. Zeng Xiaowen couldn't help but secretly guess, could it be that Liu Shang had some kind of in-depth communication with Ma Bo after moving into Ma Bo's house yesterday? I don’t know if this person is determined and can hold his own position.
Zeng Xiaowen really wanted to ask a few more questions, but Chen Yixin specifically told him not to say too many things that he shouldn't say, so as not to startle the enemy, so he suppressed his curiosity back to his stomach and kept it to that point. It depends on Liu Shang himself whether he can understand it or not. of good fortune. After a few brief greetings, Zeng Xiaowen stood up and left.
Liu Shang looked at his back, still confused by the information he received. He wasn't sure whether his understanding was correct, let alone where the other party stood, the military? Mabo? Or just a colleague who talks more?
Zeng Xiaowen returned to the office and reported the contact with Liu Shang to Chen Yixin. At the end, he added: "This person seems to know something, but I didn't ask in detail."
"No need to ask in detail, that's enough." Chen Yixin stood up and walked to the window, looked at the immigration camp in the distance, and said in a deep voice: "If he knows and doesn't report it, he is either complicit in the conspiracy, or he is protecting himself. No matter where he is. One way, we don’t need to bother trying to protect him. If he doesn’t know, then your warning should be enough to let him know when to stop and avoid getting into trouble.”
Chen Yixin turned around, looked at the respectful Zeng Xiaowen and said: "Let's stop the matter with Liu Shang and focus on the overall situation. For us, nothing is more important than stability. Even if we want to catch the moth, that's it. You have to do it yourself, and you can’t let outsiders get ahead of you.”
"Yes, chief." Zeng Xiaowen responded immediately. After working as Chen Yixin's secretary for a year, he was already a qualified soldier who understood what military orders were, instead of the former master who only thought of ideas and came up with ideas.
But whether it is Liu Shang or Zeng Xiaowen, their way of looking at problems is limited by their status and level. What they can see is just a corner of the chessboard. If you want to have an overview of the whole situation, you still need a senior official like Chen Yixin.
What Chen Yixin cares about is not whether there are people in the immigration camp who are taking advantage of free money and embezzling money, or whether there are Ming intelligence agents using this channel to lurk in the ruling area. To the military, these situations are just some uneasy little people. They're just bugs. If they get too noisy, chase them away and kill a few of them.
What he cared about was the two words he said to Zeng Xiaowen - stability. The stable social situation in the military controlled area means many important things to the military, such as obtaining first-hand sources of new recruits, sufficient military budgets approved by the Executive Committee, reasonable and legal expansion of combat force establishments, and proposing new foreign war plans... This does not include taking advantage of the convenience under the military control system to incorporate a large amount of income from the occupied areas into the military's secret treasury in the form of gray income, so that some unconventional combat plans can be launched when needed.
Chen Yixin will be appointed as the director of civil affairs in the Shandong occupied area. On the one hand, it is because he has relevant experience in the south. On the other hand, the Ministry of National Defense wants to prove to the Executive Committee that the military has the ability to occupy overseas areas. The district realizes the functions of multiple departments, and Haihan's pace of overseas expansion does not need to stop and wait for other professional departments.
(End of chapter)