A board meeting of GH.
This was a relatively important meeting, deciding on personnel appointments for some key positions within GH.
"These are the names on the list for this new batch of leadership appointments. If any of the directors have no objections, please raise your hands to vote in favor!" the meeting's moderator said quietly after announcing the list.
This was a very routine meeting, and according to past practice, this list would pass without any obstruction. This was because the list itself had already received the Chairman's approval, and due to GH's unique nature, their board meetings differed from those of private enterprises. Most directors were merely decorative figures.
A portion of the directors with real power would engage in private dealings with the Chairman, exchanging favors without bringing them up in public forums.
Therefore, as long as the Chairman's approved appointment list was announced, it would generally be passed.
However, a snag appeared. Just as the moderator finished speaking, a director interjected decisively, "I believe this list is unsuitable. It is missing the name of a crucial cadre!"
"It is not missing; I think this list is quite comprehensive!" the Chairman immediately retorted, without politeness, not even asking who this missing cadre was before firing back.
This list was the Chairman's last bid to secure his interests during his tenure, as according to some leaked information, he might be stepping down by the end of the month.
Therefore, he had to ensure his influence remained within GH. Hence, he was determined to pass this promotion list. Moreover, to guarantee its passage, he had largely disengaged from various industry affairs recently. He approved whatever his subordinates in various factions wanted, granting them significant benefits in exchange for the list's approval.
He believed his concessions had already secured the support of several others, so he absolutely had to get this list passed, with no room for compromise.
Unfortunately, the aforementioned director ignored the Chairman's stance and continued, "I believe this list is missing Comrade Wang Heyi!" the director stated.
"Comrade Wang Heyi is an excellent comrade! He diligently served in Wenzhou for over 20 years, and then served as the Branch Manager in Shen for over a year, increasing Zhejiang Province's entire business volume by more than 30%! What astonishing performance! You must realize that the province ranked second achieved less than 15%, a difference of a full hundred percent."
"If such a good comrade is not promoted, it will chill the hearts of many!" the director lamented.
"Wang Heyi!" Upon hearing this name, the Chairman felt a surge of anger. If it were any other name, it might be acceptable, but if it were Wang Heyi, it was absolutely impossible.
Therefore, he stated very forcefully, "Wang Heyi is not suitable; he lacks the qualifications!"
"How does he lack the qualifications?" the director countered.
"He has only served as a provincial branch manager for a year. How can he be promoted again so quickly? This is not according to regulations!" the Chairman offered a seemingly appropriate reason.
"Oh, but isn't the promotion of Comrade Wang Heyi at your behest?" the director asked in surprise.
"When did I ever have such an intention?"
"Didn't you send him to Beijing for studies? And according to regulations, cadres who have undergone training are to be promoted and appointed. So, isn't it that you intended to promote Comrade Wang Heyi, which is why you specifically sent him to Beijing for studies?" the director pressed.
"..." The Chairman was left speechless. Indeed, it wasn't just GH; most institutions in the country were the same. Anyone sent to Beijing for studies had a 99% chance of promotion; this was the established practice.
"Exactly! Moreover, I see that you do not intend to let Comrade Wang Heyi return. Look, the name of the new Zhejiang Provincial Branch Manager is already on this list. This clearly indicates that Wang Heyi is meant to take on a different role, to further contribute his efforts to the enterprise!"
"Indeed!"
"Yes, yes!"
The other directors present nodded in agreement, which filled the Chairman with immense fear and anger. He was already taking a huge loss and was about to retire directly, wanting to appoint some people during this transition to secure some assets.
Yet, these people wouldn't let him off, insisting on pushing up this troublesome Wang Heyi. He absolutely refused.
Therefore, the Chairman flatly refused, "Indeed, I do want to promote Comrade Wang Heyi. However, sending Wang Heyi to Beijing for studies and replacing a provincial branch manager is because we believe Wang Heyi's capabilities are exceptional, making him very suitable for expanding our business territory in less developed provinces. Only after he achieves results in the future will he be qualified to sit here with us!"
Good heavens, this Chairman's tactics were truly astonishing, managing to build upon his opponent's words, round off previous statements, and then forcefully create an entirely new deployment.
Sending Wang Heyi to a less developed province to expand territory was tantamount to a demotion. Furthermore, those less developed provinces already had their positions filled. And with the current personnel adjustments completed, the next would be at least half a year away. Wang Heyi would have to sit at home for half a year.
After half a year, who would even remember Wang Heyi?
Undeniably, this was a very sophisticated maneuver. Had it been any other time, the Chairman might have easily fooled them.
However, this time it was impossible. Thus, that director spoke up again, arguing that placing Wang Heyi in a remote province would be a waste of his talent and that he should be positioned at headquarters to utilize his abilities to the fullest.
"I disagree. I strongly oppose this appointment!" the Chairman slammed the table. Once he uttered the words "strongly oppose," it meant that achieving the objective through normal means was impossible.
However, this director had clearly anticipated this situation. He calmly stated, "Chairman, you have been too busy lately and seem to be a bit muddled. This is not acceptable."
"I believe this matter should be decided by the board. Let everyone raise their hands to vote on whether to approve this list!" the director said, then surveyed the room. "I am the first to veto this list."
"I also disagree!"
"I object!"
The Chairman stared at the entire conference room in shock. The directors who were usually silent, acting like mascots, and who never opposed or objected to the Chairman's orders, were now all raising their hands to express their opinions.
In less than a minute, more than half of the directors expressed their opposition.
Unlike private enterprises where board meetings decide voting rights based on directors' shareholdings, GH's board meetings were decided by headcount, as most directors present held no shares.
Therefore, after more than half of the directors expressed their opposition, the Chairman's list was directly vetoed. He slumped onto his chair, somewhat weak.
"Oh, right, I have another list prepared. Let me introduce it to everyone and see what your opinions are!" Having said that, the director who had initiated the opposition actually pulled out another appointment list and began introducing it on his own accord.
In fact, this list was largely similar to the previous one. The only difference was that Wang Heyi was being fast-tracked to headquarters to serve as the Minister of the Network Finance Business Department.
This department was directly under the general bank's jurisdiction, holding a relatively high position but with limited authority.
Firstly, this department was established only two years ago; it was a brand new department with no deep-rooted foundation.
Secondly, as the name suggested, it was responsible for network finance matters. Currently, network finance accounted for less than 1% of GH's overall market share, a very small figure. Naturally, this made the department's status and authority rather awkward.
Of course, placing Wang Heyi in this department was the most acceptable outcome for all parties involved. After all, their primary objective in promoting Wang Heyi was to stabilize the Jiangnan Group, not to grant him significant power and resources. Thus, being in this marginalized yet high-spec department was an excellent result.
However, Wang Heyi was not the only variable on this list. In addition, the personnel adjustments for six other individuals were changed, with their names replaced by others.
And these six individuals were, without exception, the Chairman's confidantes, the foundation of his future plans, and the guarantee for his comfortable retirement. Yet, all of them were now gone.
"You... How dare you..." Seeing this list, the Chairman could no longer maintain his composure or decorum. He stood up directly, intending to point at everyone in the room and berate them.
"Chairman, don't be in such a hurry to get angry. Before you get angry, think about the disaster you've caused. Do you know how much loan business our bank has lost, how many corporate users we've lost? When our financial report is released this year, we will likely drop from being China's number one bank to outside the top four. You have erased all our achievements and accomplishments from the past 30 years. What face do you have to point fingers and question us?" the director retorted unceremoniously, completely tearing down any pretense and leaving the Chairman speechless.
Soon, they would vote on this list. The result was that, except for the Chairman, everyone else voted unanimously.
The reason was simple: the six individuals replaced on the list were basically the confidantes of the directors present. Everyone's interests were intertwined, so who cared about this departing Chairman?
And so, our Branch Manager Wang, still studying at school, was delighted to learn of his promotion and that he could start working at any time.
However, Branch Manager Wang did not appear particularly excited. Instead, he looked at a document in his hand and was troubled.
"Huang He, I knew your favors wouldn't come so easily. You've given me such a hot potato document; I might as well not have been promoted!" Branch Manager Wang said helplessly.