Courtyard House: From Deputy Division Commander to Civilian, Progressing All the Way

Lin Yang turned to look at Chen Feng.

Chen Feng immediately flipped through the roster in his hand and reported to his superior: "Minister, this time the ministry has received a group of top students assigned from various universities, who are also among the first batch of 'selected graduates' recruited under the national pilot program. One of them is a young man with a very strong writing style and a keen political sense. His articles on regional collaboration in heavy industry, published during his university years, are very insightful. However…"

"Just what?" Lin Yang frowned slightly.

"It's just that this person comes from a rather ordinary background and has a rather aloof personality. He doesn't know how to flatter, so he was assigned to the archives of the General Office to organize briefings," Chen Feng said truthfully.

"Interesting." Lin Yang's lips curled into a cold smile. "Running an industrial business isn't like hosting a dinner party; why would you need to flatter me? As long as he has substance and can get things done well, that's the person I need. What's his name?"

Chen Feng glanced at the file and clearly uttered three words: "Zhao Lichun. He has just graduated from a prestigious engineering university."

Upon hearing this name, a barely perceptible glint of light flashed in Lin Yang's previously calm eyes.

Zhao Lichun?

That powerful and ruthless figure who, in later generations' memories, dominated Handong Province for decades, wielding absolute power and manipulating authority with unfathomable depth? That cunning "Secretary Zhao," who cultivated countless disciples and old friends?

In this era, at this time, he unexpectedly found himself in the hands of a greenhorn recent graduate selected for civil service!

A surge of intense interest welled up within Lin Yang. If he were to personally cultivate a top-tier political talent at this juncture, completely binding his ambition and abilities to his own cause, he would undoubtedly become an invincible political dagger in the future.

"Meeting adjourned. Chen Feng, have Zhao Lichun bring the briefing he prepared to my office." Lin Yang stood up and walked out of the meeting room without hesitation.

Half an hour later, there was a gentle knock on the door of the minister's office.

"Enter."

The door was pushed open, and a young man of about twenty-three or twenty-four years old walked in.

He wore an old Zhongshan suit, faded from washing and even with some wear on the cuffs. His hair was cut short, making him look very capable. He stood very straight, and although he was facing one of the most important ministers in the country, there was an unavoidable tension in his eyes, but more than that, there was a burning desire to demonstrate his own value.

This is Zhao Lichun in his youth.

At this time, he did not yet possess the deep-seated cunning and greed that would later emerge. He was simply an ambitious, humble young man eager to climb the pyramid of power.

"Good morning, Minister Lin. Zhao Lichun, researcher at the General Office's Archives, reporting for duty." Zhao Lichun stopped, bowed slightly, and spoke in a loud and clear voice.

Lin Yang sat behind the large desk, not immediately asking him to sit down, but quietly observing him.

That gaze, carrying the imposing aura of someone who decides life and death on the battlefield, was like an X-ray machine, as if it could see right through Zhao Lichun's soul.

In the suffocating silence, fine beads of sweat gradually appeared on Zhao Lichun's forehead, but he still gritted his teeth, did not move an inch, and did not avoid Lin Yang's gaze.

"Good composure," Lin Yang thought to himself.

"I've heard you're a quick writer and write well," Lin Yang finally spoke, gesturing to the chair opposite his desk. "Sit down and let's talk."

"Thank you, Minister." Zhao Lichun only sat on one-third of the chair, handing a stack of handwritten reports to Lin Yang with both hands.

Lin Yang took the briefing and flipped through a few pages.

The handwriting was strong and powerful, penetrating the paper. The content was not the kind of empty rhetoric, but rather a very precise list of the current production capacity bottlenecks of several large steel mills in North China, as well as the local protectionist resistance that might be encountered during the relocation of the Third Front. It even included a preliminary idea of ​​using cross-departmental transfers to break the pattern of local interests.

This is hardly something a recent graduate could write. It's clearly the work of a political genius with an innate, keen intuition for the interplay of power and interests.

"Did you come up with this article yourself?" Lin Yang tossed the briefing onto the table and leaned forward slightly.

Zhao Lichun took a deep breath and answered without hesitation: "Reporting to the Minister, this is a summary I made myself while compiling the production data reported by various provinces, combined with the differences in the implementation efficiency after the previous policies were issued. It is inevitable that local areas will have resistance to the relocation of equipment. If we do not use drastic measures to break down their personnel barriers, the execution of the Third Front construction will be greatly reduced."

"You've got some nerve," Lin Yang sneered. "You're just a recent graduate selected for a government position, not even a section-level cadre, yet you dare to lecture local officials on how to be bureaucrats in your report?"

Upon hearing what sounded like a reprimand, Zhao Lichun's heart sank, but he immediately sensed the hidden admiration in Lin Yang's tone. He knew this was a crucial crossroads in his life, and he had to seize it!

"Minister, I come from a poor background, with no connections or powerful backers." Zhao Lichun raised his head, his eyes burning with ambition. "But I understand the rules, and I understand efficiency even more. As long as you give me a platform, I'll do the dirty and tiring work that others dare not do; I'll offend the people that others dare not offend. I'm only responsible to you, Minister!"

These words were spoken with absolute certainty and were so direct as to be almost blatant.

Looking at the sharp and ambitious young man in front of him, Lin Yang finally smiled with satisfaction.

It really was Zhao Lichun. He has a keen sense of smell, is good at speculation, and knows how to pledge allegiance to the truly powerful.

Zhao Lichun is currently a rough diamond, unpolished. If he is allowed to struggle in local government positions, he will eventually be corrupted by power and money into a greedy and insatiable parasite.

However, if you keep him by your side and use absolute force and more sophisticated political maneuvering to suppress and guide him, he will become an extremely sharp political weapon.

"You're a smart man, Zhao Lichun."

Lin Yang stood up, walked up to Zhao Lichun, and looked down at him. "The greatest advantage of a smart person is that they know what they want."

But the biggest weakness of intelligent people is that they are easily blinded by immediate gains, ultimately playing with fire and getting burned.

Lin Yang patted Zhao Lichun on the shoulder, those two casual pats...

However, Zhao Lichun felt an overwhelming sense of pressure.

"From today onwards, move your file out of the archives. You are now my political secretary."

Lin Yang turned around, walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, and looked out at the vast city of Beijing.

"Stay by my side and put away your self-righteous schemes and tricks."

And I will teach you what true strategic maneuvering is, and what the power to control the industrial lifeline of this nation truly is!

Zhao Lichun stood up abruptly, his voice trembling with extreme excitement, and bowed deeply.

"Yes! Li Chun will do his utmost, without fail, to live up to the Minister's expectations!"