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Chapter 1445 Get All Parties Moving

At the beginning of the year before last, the General Staff, as is customary, selected four experienced staff officers from the Navy and Army Staff Departments through assessments to fill existing positions.

These staff officers are all relatively young, having gained several years of experience in their positions and performed exceptionally well. After arriving at the General Staff Headquarters, they will be assigned to various departments based on their individual strengths, becoming a reserve force.

Among them was a young man from the Army General Staff named Zhang Wang Zhao. Without asking, just hearing the name, there was a 99% chance he was a graduate of the Royal Academy of the Imperial Household Department. Apart from orphans, children from poor families would voluntarily ask the emperor to bestow names, mainly because they were all strange and none of them were normal.

Zhang, Wang, and Zhao performed exceptionally well in the Army Staff Department, achieving the highest performance score for three consecutive years. To transfer them over, they engaged in numerous battles of wits with Ding Shun, almost escalating the conflict to the point of confronting the emperor.

As it turns out, the person they went to such great lengths to bring in was indeed a talented individual. The young man was not only proficient in the army staff system, but he was almost at the point where he could independently formulate large-scale combat plans.

He has strong learning ability and the ability to apply knowledge to new situations. He adapted to his new identity and new job in just over six months after arriving at the General Staff Headquarters, and he was able to complete the tasks assigned by his superiors excellently.

Not only is he highly skilled in his profession, but he also excels in interpersonal skills. He gets along well with his colleagues, communicates smoothly with relevant departments, and fully leverages his background in the army to maintain good relationships with his former superiors.

Formulating operational plans is only a small part of the General Staff's work. These plans are usually completed first by the Army and Navy General Staffs, and then reviewed and adjusted strategically by the General Staff.

Much of the work involves managing military logistics, such as arsenals, mines, military bases, and land and sea transportation systems. Simply being good at fighting isn't enough; without the ability to operate these industries smoothly, combat troops are like rootless duckweed.

However, managing these departments cannot be done like commanding an army in battle; it requires more knowledge, patience, personal charisma, and interpersonal skills. Zhang, Wang, and Zhao have a strong advantage in these areas and are promising candidates.

Tan Buming had long recognized Zhang, Wang, and Zhao's strengths and weaknesses and paid close attention to them. A year later, he promoted them to probationary confidential staff officer, which qualified them to participate in the highest-level military conferences, effectively giving them a higher platform.

Zhang, Wang, and Zhao did not disappoint their mentor. They were promoted but their performance remained the same. They were always the first to arrive and the last to leave, managing everything in an orderly manner. They quickly adapted to their new job and environment.

Leaders all want someone who is capable, reliable, and obedient by their side, like Wang Chengen, who served the emperor. So Tan Buming assigned some trivial matters to Zhang Wang Zhao and gradually groomed him as his successor.

A year later, Zhang Wangzhao was promoted to Level 5 Confidential Secretary as scheduled. He continued to perform well and became Tan Buming's right-hand man. The intensity of the work was different whether he was there or not.

Even the Chief of the General Staff, an astronaut, was somewhat envious and jealous, and followed the same approach to select promising candidates from among the new recruits. Unfortunately, he was not satisfied with any of the three he chose, as they all had relatively obvious shortcomings and were not as well-rounded as Zhang, Wang, and Zhao.

However, this rising star in the General Staff Department, widely regarded as a top candidate to succeed the deputy chief of the General Staff in a few more years, tragically died in a car accident on his way back from an ordinary transfer, leaving behind a deep sense of regret.

More than two months have passed since the tragedy of Zhang, Wang, and Zhao, but Tan Buming still hasn't gotten used to working without him. He often blurts out that name when he's concentrating, because he's so used to it and really can't bear to part with it. "Chief of Staff, the Grand Eunuch has arrived and is having tea in your office."

A trainee staff officer's announcement from outside the door timely defused the awkward situation. Upon hearing that Wang Chengen had arrived, Tan Buming disregarded his grief, composed himself, and quickly went outside.

Wang Chengen held no official position in the court, nor did he hold a prominent position in the palace. His most formal post was that of a personal attendant to the emperor, a post he held for decades without ever being promoted.

However, none of the officials in the court who weren't fools would think that this old eunuch, who had neither power nor great wisdom and seemed a bit simple-minded, could be ignored.

He and Wei San were practically the emperor's shadows and alter egos, following him everywhere. They didn't need to avoid even the most confidential meetings, always silently standing beside the emperor. Often, the emperor would allow them to express their opinions before making a decision; by the same token, when they appeared alone, they inevitably represented the emperor.

Fortunately, these two were very self-disciplined and rarely used their special status to interfere in other people's affairs. They also had no precedent of speaking up for others in private matters, so they were not disliked by the court officials.

"Grand Eunuch, today's battle report won't arrive until the afternoon. Does His Majesty have any new decrees?"

Compared to other departments, Wang Chengen probably visited the General Staff Headquarters the most. Especially during wartime, he would often run errands for the emperor to inquire about the battle situation, or temporarily summon certain personnel to the palace to advise on military matters. Therefore, Tan Buming dared not be negligent in his attitude, but without any pleasantries or formalities, he went straight to the point.

"It wasn't His Majesty's order. This old servant saw the Ministry of War's memorial while serving in the Hall of Mental Cultivation today. Wang Jiazhen is still protesting the explosion at the Lanzhou Arsenal. In order not to trouble His Majesty with such a trivial matter, this old servant did not submit it for the time being."

But this matter cannot be kept hidden forever. If one day Wang Jiazhen loses his temper and mentions it to His Majesty's face, this old servant will have committed a grave offense. You know His Majesty's temper; he absolutely will not tolerate the slightest deception.

Therefore, this old servant has come today to ask the Deputy Chief of the General Staff what the General Staff's attitude is towards this matter? If it can be handled with some leniency, could we perhaps take this matter upon ourselves to avoid causing further trouble?

As the saying goes, "One who stays near vermilion gets stained red, and one who stays near ink gets stained black." Even if Wang Chengen was stupid, after spending over thirty years with a master liar, he would have learned some tricks of the trade. Before he even left the palace, his lies were already prepared—two sets, one primary and one backup. The central theme was just two words: budget!

The reason why the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Industry, and the General Staff are passing the buck and refusing to take responsibility in this matter lies in the budget. If any of them admits responsibility for the accident, not only will their performance evaluation be tarnished, but they will also suffer losses in next year's budget.

Now each department is operating on its own, and it's hard to say that every silver coin will be spent wisely. But the loss of an entire arsenal and numerous warehouses, even without casualties, means that the infrastructure and equipment costs alone are not insignificant. This would be a heavy burden for any department and would seriously affect work arrangements for next year and even several years to come.

Therefore, Wang Chengen felt that no one would easily give in, otherwise they wouldn't have escalated to the point of submitting a memorial to the emperor. It was perfect that they wouldn't budge; then they could conduct their own investigations, even a joint one, which suited the emperor's wishes perfectly.

(End of this chapter)