Zhong Jiayuan looked at Tang Fei with a bitter smile and said, "Brother, you have indeed presented me with a huge problem. There are many covert battles within the Monitoring Bureau, but to publicly beat a colleague, this is the first of its kind..."
"The Director has repeatedly decreed that colleagues must not fight or use knives or guns."
"I didn’t use knives or guns," Tang Fei explained.
"It’s not about that... If everyone starts fighting and killing, what kind of organization would we look like? Because of this incident, the Disciplinary Department has already come to investigate and gather evidence..."
"So many people witnessed it, and many from your team are Pan Yuheng’s old partners, old teammates... What good words can you expect from them? What good would it do to your reputation if this were noted in your record?"
"I had no other choice," Tang Fei said with a distressed look on his face. "Pan Yuheng pulls rank, shows no respect to his superiors, and challenges authority... I approached them to say hi, to get acquainted, but he led a protest."
"In front of me, he insulted our team’s confidential secretary Tan Yu, saying something about her belt being loose. Is that something an Inspection Team Captain should say?"
"The poor girl felt awful and angry hearing those words. If this spreads, how much would it affect her reputation? What is this considered again? Right, workplace bullying... harassment..."
"Chief, you know, I have neither age nor seniority on my side, just a bit of a background, with only the King and the Director backing me, I practically have nothing else..."
Zhong Jiayuan widened his eyes looking at Tang Fei, wondering what kind of argument that was.
You’re backed by the King and the Director and you call that having nothing?
Then what counts as having something, what is it that you really want?
Of course, Zhong Jiayuan wasn’t fooled; he understood the deeper implications of Tang Fei’s words.
Standing behind me are the King and the Director, I’m on a royal mission, what does hitting a minor officer matter?
Whatever happens, you still have to find a way to cover for me.
"You heard it yourself just now in the Director’s office; I was specifically placed in division five by the King. Why do you think he did that? Isn’t it because he trusts our relationship?"
"They know I’m inexperienced, but if I cause trouble, you would surely help me smooth things over... Chief, don’t you think that’s the reason?"
"Yes," Zhong Jiayuan said bitterly, yet he could only verbally agree.
Regardless of whether the King and the Director had this intention, since they had placed Tang Fei under him, he had to ensure that Tang Fei didn’t get into trouble...
Besides, there was the Princess’s afternoon tea to consider.
No good banquets, no good tea, indeed.
It was also his own oversight, he should have personally accompanied Tang Fei to team two and then joined him at the meeting.
To establish his authority from the start, he would rather play the bad guy himself than let Tang Fei resort to violence.
"Although it’s my first day on the job at the Monitoring Bureau, from the moment I received my appointment, I considered myself a proud Inspector. Tell me, isn’t someone like Pan Zhiheng who harms his superior, someone who should be kicked out of our inspection team immediately?"
"It’s a harm to the group... the phrase is harm to the group’s horse," Zhong Jiayuan quietly corrected.
Getting it wrong in front of himself was one thing, but making such a mistake in public could turn into a laughingstock.
Not just anybody would be so blunt.
"All I have in my heart are the King and the Royal Family... I cannot allow him to tarnish the King’s image or undermine the dignity of our Imperial Inspection Bureau..."
Zhong Jiayuan was left speechless once again.
He was only seeing the first layer, whereas others were operating at the stratosphere?
"I know you must feel the same, right? After all, you are also a Zhong. If he tarnishes the King, isn’t he tarnishing the Zhong Family?" Tang Fei was a man of loyalty, always thinking of his brothers when good things happened.
"Yes, that’s exactly how I feel," Zhong Jiayuan affirmed resolutely.
He paused, then added, "But if something happens again, you can tell me or complain to the Disciplinary Department... We have safer and more reliable methods of handling things."
"Chief, there wasn’t time," Tang Fei insisted. "He cornered me and I couldn’t back down, the only solutions I could think of were to seek your help or file a complaint with the Disciplinary Department..."
"When would it be handled? Will the method be just giving a fine of three drinks? Could I still command this team? Would anyone follow my orders thereafter?"
"That’s indeed..." Zhong Jiayuan nodded understandingly.
It was Tang Fei’s first meeting with his team members, and if Pan Zhiheng had embarrassed him to the point where he couldn’t establish his authority and carve out a dominant persona, then what awaited him would be total sidelining by Pan Zhiheng and the rest of the inspectors.
He knew all too well the way people worked below him, silently resistive, outwardly diligent but secretly lazy, how could any cases be effectively handled or supervisory work be accomplished?
If you trouble them, they still look aggrieved, claiming they tried their best but couldn’t manage, what could they do?
The big mountain behind you is for exerting force at critical moments, not to come out and support you in every minor issue. After one or two times, they themselves would feel they had misplaced their trust, better to find someone more competent then.
At that point, your career trajectory would be completely doomed.
Though Tang Fei’s method was rough, it was indeed the most effective in a short span.