Chapter 592 - Intelligence Work Meeting
Were Guo Yi and his colleagues merchants, or were they spies? Their identity and affiliation had never been clearly delineated. But obviously, the merchant component predominated. Whether at Guangzhou Station or Leizhou Station, their primary mission was selling goods, importing materials, and funneling manpower to the Transmigration Group. Intelligence gathering was merely a sideline.
As for Leizhou Station, its activities extended beyond sales and imports to encompass sugar production and distilling under the Light Industry Department, sugarcane cultivation improvement under the Agricultural Department, and the agricultural cooperative jointly promoted by the Tiandihui and Delung.
"...These two stations have seen far deeper intervention from other departments than from us. The notion that we could directly command them is, I fear, unrealistic."
Precisely so, Jiang Shan thought. The Guangzhou and Leizhou systems had grown accustomed to their unique status as political-economic-intelligence complexes. Bringing these stations under the Intelligence Bureau's umbrella was pure fantasy—neither the Executive Committee nor the Senate would sanction it. If he marched in demanding that this belonged to him and that belonged to him, the Foreign Intelligence Bureau—this freshly minted institution—would only get a noseful of ash.
The Foreign Intelligence Bureau sounded impressive, but in reality it was a hollow shell. Until it accumulated sufficient strength, no one would take it seriously.
"We must rely on the organizations, connections, and groundwork of the overseas stations," Jiang Shan acknowledged. "Of course, we could start from scratch and dispatch less conspicuous intelligence personnel to the mainland independently. But—"
"But the Executive Committee won't approve, correct?" Wang Ding said. "You understand the Executive Committee's thinking as well as I do. They despise waste. Every Elder is a treasury of knowledge and skills—even the so-called loser otakus. As for dispatching indigenous intelligence agents, I'm not certain how many are actually available."
Jiang Shan reflected that he truly had no conception of how much foundation the intelligence system possessed. The answer would have to wait until all transferred materials were fully reviewed.
That day, the two spent a full day and night reading through everything that had been transferred. Materials from various departments were a motley assortment—fortunately, the quantity wasn't overwhelming. The most valuable items were undoubtedly those from the former Enemy Work Department, transferred from the General Bureau of Political Security. Whatever modest intelligence work had occurred in the past had been largely operated through the PSB Enemy Work Department.
"Lin Baiguang has established a base in Qiongzhou—this probably qualifies as a dedicated intelligence station." Jiang Shan noted.
Lin Baiguang's station in Qiongzhou—the Wanfeng Grain Trust—not only employed five indigenous intelligence agents but had also cultivated a local intelligence network headed by Ma Benyuan. Simultaneously, he had performed extensive work supporting production and export transportation from the Jiazi Coal Mine. His achievements were genuinely outstanding.
Even the grain trust's commercial status was respectable. According to his financial statements, Wanfeng Grain Trust's profits sufficed to maintain the intelligence station's operations, with a small surplus remaining.
"If Lin Baiguang were willing to return and serve here, he would be more than qualified to direct the Third Division." Jiang Shan observed.
Wang Ding thought: If he were willing to return, would this directorship have fallen to you? But he kept this to himself. Aloud, he said: "There's also Monk Zou Temple in Leizhou—another professional intelligence station." Chen Tianxiong had specifically requested the temple's reconstruction as an intelligence station. His current Leizhou activities were essentially based there.
"I believe we should recall everyone and convene a work meeting," Jiang Shan said after some deliberation. "Including representatives from Guangzhou and Leizhou. This is firstly a gesture of respect toward them. Secondly, we'll be coordinating extensively with those locations going forward. Failing to speak frankly face-to-face could cause problems later."
"Mm. Actually, you could reserve certain positions for dispatched personnel—they wouldn't necessarily need to return to headquarters. Guo Yi could serve as Director of the First Division. Lin Baiguang could perfectly well direct the Third Division. No need to recruit among Elders in Lingao..."
"You're handing out titles and making promises." Jiang Shan smiled. "Once they become Division Directors, they'll have to take the work seriously, won't they?"
"Exactly. The district magistrate can never match the man on the spot! One always cares a bit more about matters within one's own jurisdiction. Besides, frontline personnel understand many jobs far better than we do. What's the point of hastily promoting a few people who read spy novels to be Division Directors? Would frontline staff even respect them?"
"Your reasoning isn't wrong, but they're all on the front lines. I worry they couldn't fulfill a Division Director's responsibilities—leadership requires substantial administrative work." Jiang Shan said. "Making Guo Yi First Division Director would probably please him, and the Executive Committee might not object. But later, when the Intelligence Bureau arranges personnel to enter Great Ming for operations, how would we discuss and coordinate with him? The process becomes impossibly complicated."
"Mm." Wang Ding conceded he had overlooked that point. With evident reluctance, he abandoned his proposal. "So that won't work after all."
"The ideal arrangement would be to transfer frontline personnel back to serve as Division Directors while dispatching new intelligence officers outward." Jiang Shan said. "That way, leadership possesses experience, and newcomers gain frontline training."
"I'm afraid that's currently impossible."
Jiang Shan recognized the impracticability as well. Commercial relationships and personal connections in ancient society were tightly interwoven. Transferring any one of Guo Yi's group would sever numerous commercial and social ties in Guangzhou. This wasn't the same as casually rotating executives in modern corporations.
"Let's hold an intelligence work meeting first. Ideally, we can communicate with everyone." Jiang Shan reached his decision. "I also want to visit various departments first to understand the specific situation."
"Very well. What should I do?" Wang Ding asked.
"You should visit the people on this list first. Have casual conversations with them." Jiang Shan said. "They're all Elders who have volunteered for intelligence work. You worked in a powerful department before—you should have the skill to read people. Assess whether they genuinely want to pursue this invisible profession or merely fancy themselves Great Ming's answer to 007."
"Understood. I'll go shortly." Wang Ding asked, "You don't want the latter type, correct?"
"No, the latter is also acceptable—at least they have enthusiasm." Jiang Shan said. "The prerequisite is knowing how much manpower and budget I can actually obtain."
The first intelligence work meeting convened by the Foreign Intelligence Bureau was held in Bopu. Participating institutions included: the Ministry of Commerce, the Religious Affairs Office (along with the heads of "Two Religions"), the Li and Miao Affairs Office, the General Bureau of Political Security, and personnel from the two overseas stations. Zhang Xin represented Guangzhou; Chen Tianxiong represented Leizhou. Lin Baiguang also traveled from Qiongzhou to attend.
The meeting was hosted in Bopu—specifically in the private villa Wu De had constructed for himself. Following the Second Plenary Session, Wu De had transferred the property rights to the General Office to forestall inquiries from other Elders on the matter. Because the location was both quiet and secluded, and less conspicuous than anything in Bairen City, it had become an ideal venue for small-scale clandestine meetings.
On matters of intelligence work, the Executive Committee had long believed a comprehensive integration and cleanup was necessary. First, to eliminate the Political Security Department's interference in the intelligence system; second, to consolidate existing systems and eliminate the chaos of policies issuing from multiple gates.
Modern people were extremely sensitive about intelligence. Nearly every department aspired to run its own intelligence organization—or to become one. Even a department like the Agricultural Committee had submitted proposals to organize a "Red Flower Society" within the Tiandihui system—an institution that would operate as itinerant peddlers roaming the countryside while conducting intelligence collection and propaganda agitation. The General Staff was likewise contemplating a General Staff Intelligence Bureau...
This fanatical enthusiasm for everyone doing intelligence needed correction. The Foreign Intelligence Bureau was precisely the basin of cold water the Executive Committee poured over the heads of all these departments.
At this intelligence meeting, it was clarified that external intelligence collection was the exclusive responsibility of the Foreign Intelligence Bureau. All external intelligence activities must be planned and registered with the Foreign Intelligence Bureau. Departments were prohibited from conducting external intelligence activities without prior notification. Simultaneously, it was reiterated that no department could establish its own intelligence organization or compile specialized personnel without authorization.
Under the premise of unified command, it was stipulated that all intelligence consolidation and analysis work fell under the Foreign Intelligence Bureau's purview. Intelligence collected from all stations must first be submitted to the Foreign Intelligence Bureau for consolidation and analysis before distribution.
Intelligence analysis was the heart of intelligence work—arguably the most critical function. Previously, intelligence collected by individual departments, with the exception of the General Bureau of Political Security, had typically been forwarded raw, without analysis. The recipients were generally the Executive Committee and "potentially useful departments." The latter was a vague category. For example, the daily market retail price telegram collected by Guangzhou Station—recipients were the Executive Committee. But after the Executive Committee received it, determining whom else should see this intelligence became murky: Ministry of Commerce, Foreign Trade Company, Cooperative, even Agricultural Committee and Civil Affairs Committee might theoretically need it.
Out of excessive caution, the General Office had been copying intelligence to every conceivably interested department. This was not only wasteful but diverted receiving departments' attention—these intelligence items arrived unrefined, unanalyzed, unconsolidated, essentially raw material that each department had to interpret for itself. Supervisors were forced to spend considerable time reading and determining whether any given item was actually useful. Many grew lazy and simply filed everything unread.
According to Wang Ding's plan, all intelligence would now undergo preliminary consolidation and analysis in the Analysis Division before being categorized and compiled according to timeliness and content. Each department would submit its required intelligence categories to the Foreign Intelligence Bureau, which would then distribute according to security clearance. Urgent or major intelligence would be transmitted directly to the relevant Executive Committee member and counterpart department to ensure the fastest possible response time.
Second was the establishment of a shared Master Intelligence Database. All collected intelligence materials would be compiled by category and date for specialized storage in the database. When departments had needs, they could query directly according to their security clearance—rather than archiving separately as before, creating mountains of dead materials that only the truly curious ever consulted.
In the division of responsibilities: Li and Miao affairs intelligence was classified as "Internal Affairs." The Foreign Intelligence Bureau would no longer involve itself in intelligence collection and organization in this sphere. This work would be led by the Li and Miao Affairs Office, with support from the General Bureau of Political Security and Religious Affairs Office.
A critical element of foreign intelligence work—the affiliation of overseas stations—was clarified at the meeting. Overseas stations fell directly under the Colonial and Trade Department. Previously, their status had always been ambiguous: some were counted as intelligence ports, some as commercial ports, some under the Planning Agency. The things they handled were numerous and jumbled, yet of irreplaceable importance. Now that affiliation was formalized, coordination among parties would become easier.
The meeting determined that overseas stations were obligated to support all Foreign Intelligence Bureau activities. To enable effective command, all overseas station heads would concurrently hold the position of Intelligence Station Head within the Foreign Intelligence Bureau, creating a de facto hierarchical relationship with the Foreign Intelligence Bureau Director.
Thus Guo Yi of Guangzhou Station and Wen Tong of Leizhou Station became Intelligence Station Heads of the Foreign Intelligence Bureau. Every overseas station established in the future would be obligated to collect local intelligence and support Foreign Intelligence Bureau activities. In practice, of course, station heads could delegate specific intelligence responsibilities to other Elders at their station.
Besides overseas stations, the Religious Affairs Office was designated a "Key Assistance Unit" of the Foreign Intelligence Bureau. Zhang Yuchen's "New Taoism" in particular was seen as possessing tremendous intelligence infiltration potential. Chen Tianxiong noted specifically that Monk Zou Temple in Xuwen was ideal territory for "New Taoism" to use as a base, serving simultaneously as a missionary outpost and an intelligence station.
Zhang Yuchen, freshly returned from the Sanya Development Zone and tanned dark, embraced this proposal enthusiastically. He offered to prepare "New Taoism" for close cooperation with the Foreign Intelligence Bureau. He was willing to contribute the graduates of the "Taoist Student Training Class" currently being prepared by "New Taoism" for dual training in mission work and intelligence. This way, once Taoist students graduated and expanded to the mainland, they would become dual vanguards of ideological and intelligence work.
"Your Taoist Student Training Class hasn't produced a single person, yet you're already promising to contribute them everywhere?" Religious Affairs Office Director He Ying sneered. "First you contributed to Li and Miao Affairs, then to the PSB for internal security, now to the Foreign Intelligence Bureau."
"I am merely indicating the magnitude of the role 'New Taoism' might play in our cause," Zhang Yuchen replied without changing expression. "As for the source of Taoist students, I have submitted numerous reports." The implication was clear: if the role wasn't being fulfilled, the fault lay with those who refused to provide manpower.
Wu Shimang, seeing his Lingao Church overlooked, hastily spoke up. Though the Lingao Church faced certain restrictions on missionary work in mainland China, the "Catholic" faith could enable them to play a greater role in activities targeting Europeans. Moreover, the Lingao Church already commanded a cadre of sufficiently devout believers available for deployment. Compared to "New Taoism," which could only speak in abstractions about potential contributions, the Lingao Church could immediately "enter battle."
"Our believers are deeply devout—yes, deeply devout," Wu Shimang said. "They sincerely welcome martyrdom. Assigning them any task requires no consideration of consequences."
"And what exactly would your nuns and grandmothers be good for?" Zhang Yuchen adopted a contemplative look.
Laughter erupted around the conference table. Wu Shimang was unabashed, arguing forcefully: "What's wrong with nuns and grandmothers? Such elderly people attract no attention wherever they go—they make excellent intelligence personnel!"
"I think we should leave the elderly in the convent alone," He Ying said. "They've served your Lingao Church long enough. Let them spend their remaining years in peace."
"We also have quite a few young devout believers," Wu Shimang pressed on, eager to demonstrate his work in this area. "I believe dispatching devout indigenous people with firm faith to serve in intelligence collection is highly suitable—at minimum, they won't betray us."
Jiang Shan saw merit in using religion for intelligence collection and promptly expressed "sincere thanks" for the Religious Affairs Office's support.
After the Bopu Intelligence Work Meeting concluded, Chen Tianxiong and Lin Baiguang were invited to the Foreign Intelligence Bureau for a private meeting with Jiang Shan and his team.
These two were essentially the Foreign Intelligence Bureau's core intelligence personnel abroad. Jiang Shan valued them highly and conversed with elaborate courtesy. His first proposal was to invite Lin Baiguang back to serve as either Third Division Director or Office Director.
"No. I'd prefer to remain an external operative." Lin Baiguang shook his head without ceremony. "I don't enjoy office work. I want to accomplish practical things in the field."
"Very well." Jiang Shan recognized that such a person would not be easily swayed; pressing further would only diminish his own standing. "Then I'd like to hear your views and suggestions on this Bureau's work."
Lin Baiguang smiled. "Nothing complicated, really. First and foremost: people. We need to add personnel in substantial numbers."
"I too feel that manpower is desperately scarce," Jiang Shan nodded. "But Elders are a scarce resource..."
"I'm not talking about Elders," Lin Baiguang shook his head. "As you said, Elders are precious. How can we casually throw them into grassroots intelligence work on the mainland? Every death is a major loss. I'm talking about indigenous intelligence personnel."
Lin Baiguang reminded Jiang Shan that several cohorts of intelligence personnel training classes had been conducted in the past, but the numbers were small—nowhere near sufficient. Personnel training must be prioritized.
"Indigenous intelligence personnel lack experience and need more opportunities for practice. I suggest increasing investment in Qiongshan County. Newly trained intelligence personnel can all be sent to me." Lin Baiguang said.
"Oh?" Jiang Shan wondered what this meant. Qiongshan County was the attached county of Qiongzhou Prefecture—after all, just a county seat on Hainan Island. In the Executive Committee's eyes, it was merely an apple temporarily left unpicked. Were it not for the Jiazi Coal Mine, investing substantial intelligence resources there would be unnecessary.
"Before I explain, let me first describe our operational situation in Qiongshan County."
He began with his work report.
Wanfeng Grain Trust's activities. Work with the Hai family. Ma Benyuan's local intelligence network...
"...In Qiongshan County, we have already achieved considerable progress." Lin Baiguang said. "The bureaucratic institutions of the entire Qiongzhou Prefecture are practically sieves."
(End of Chapter)