Focus on: Minister Gao: the man behind the desk

[sakana17]

Minister Gao (Gāo Jìngfēng | 高劲风) is the bureaucratic head of the Haixing Inspectorate and Zhao Yunlan's boss.



When we first meet Minister Gao, he is the head of the Haixing Inspectorate, under the Xingdu Bureau, where Zhao Xinci is the director. The SID reports to the Haixing Inspectorate, and Zhao Yunlan reports to Minister Gao.

Zhao Xinci is someone Minister Gao looks up to and is somewhat close to. Minister Gao doesn't know Zhao Yunlan well enough to be suspicious of Zhao Yunlan's self-criticism written with a brush. He also doesn't know that Zhao Yunlan and Zhao Xinci aren't close, and that Zhao Yunlan isn't aware of his father's recent promotion. Zhao Yunlan doesn't know Minister Gao is friends with his father, so he may not have known they were partners before.



In the past, Gao Jingfeng and Zhao Xinci were partners chasing Dixing criminals. They took down one gang and its leader committed suicide. It's Gao Jingfeng who mentions that their superiors want to create a special investigation unit to deal with Dixing people.

At the wedding of Li Jiaqi and Huang Linqi, Minister Gao is greeted by Li Jiaqi's father, who takes him aside to thank the SID for their help. Minister Gao tells him that as long as Mr. Li hasn't done anything illegal, the SID and Haixing Inspectorate will support him with all their power. When Zhu Jiu attacks the wedding using Zheng Yi and her Dixing power, Minister Gao witnesses Shen Wei single-handedly putting a stop to the violent chaos (but apparently doesn't realize Shen Wei is a Dixing person). Favorably impressed, he shakes hands with Shen Wei and remembers him later, when Zhao Yunlan takes Shen Wei to the Haixing Inspectorate.

Although Minister Gao says he has faith in Zhao Yunlan, he frequently disapproves of Zhao Yunlan's unusual methods of running the SID (such as letting Da Qing impersonate someone from the Xingdu Bureau to release Lin Jing and Cong Bo from being detained). And as Professor Ouyang's serum experiments ramp up, Minister Gao attempts to block information from the SID.

When Zhao Xinci is kidnapped as part of Wang Xiangyang's and Sha Ya's revenge plan, Minister Gao is in the same car and is also taken. Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei find him in an abandoned Jeep and revive him.

He's grateful to them for being saved, but the disagreements between Minister Gao and Zhao Yunlan become more intense when Ye Zun escalates his plans to conquer Haixing. Zhao Yunlan wants to let the people know about the crisis they're about to face, but Minister Gao fears unrest and social collapse. He says, "To be honest I don't know if my actions are correct or not. But humans have lived in peace for so long they can't bear such fear or cope with such turmoil. Only we can bear this great crisis silently."



As things go from bad to worse, news about the SID is leaked to the public and Minister Gao abolishes the SID. He makes Zhao Yunlan the scapegoat when Zhao Yunlan refuses to sacrifice Chu Shuzhi or any member of the SID to appease public opinion.

When Professor Ouyang pushes Minister Gao to approve distribution of his experimental serum, Minister Gao hesitates because the results haven't been perfect. While they're arguing, Ye Zun shows up in his snazzy white prom outfit suit and says if they hand over Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei to him, he'll consider withdrawing his Dixing army. Minister Gao tells Ye Zun they'll consider it. After Ye Zun leaves, Minister Gao says that Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei, whether they're right or wrong, don't deserve to be betrayed. But he reluctantly approves the distribution of Professor Ouyang's serum. When Guo Ying eavesdrops and enters to beg him to reconsider, Minister Gao has Guo Ying dragged off by guards to be locked up. Later on, Minister Gao tells Zhao Xinci that the serum experiment is "going well."



After losing contact with Professor Ouyang when the invasion starts, Minister Gao gives the order to deploy the reserve forces at the entrance to Dixing. If they can't crush the invasion in one blow, Minister Gao will be ruined. Zhao Xinci berates him for acting rashly after he's always done things steadily. Minister Gao admits that the burden of the Haixing Inspectorate's responsibility is heavy. Every decision he makes affects thousands of people's lives. Zhao Xinci is going to ask the Xingdu Bureau to hand over Minister Gao's executive powers to him so Minister Gao can rest, but Minister Gao punches him on the back of the head and knocks him down. Zhao Xinci/Zhang Shi gets up and knocks Minister Gao unconscious.

We don't see Minister Gao again until a year after Ye Zun was defeated. Guo Ying is now the minister in charge of the Haixing Inspectorate, and Gao Jingfeng is his secretary and has adapted to his role. Zhao Xinci tells him a secretary needs a strong sense of responsibility, and not to look down on a secretary's role.

These stories on AO3 have tags for Minister Gao:
Thy treasure is thy heart by EmBlu (IcyDeath)
As Diplomacy Demands by ExtraPenguin
Spirit of the Living by through_shadows_falling (crossover with Detroit: Become Human)

Comment with more Minister Gao fanworks that I missed!

Come talk about Minister Gao!

1. Did Minister Gao make any good decisions?

2. Gao Jingfeng is there when Zhang Shi chooses Zhao Xinci as his new host. What if Zhang Shi had inhabited Gao Jingfeng instead?

3. Do you think Minister Gao ever knew Shen Wei was a Dixing person or the Black-Cloaked Envoy? What if Minister Gao had found out Shen Wei was a Dixing person when they first met?

4. What does Minister Gao fear the most?

5. Is Gao Jingfeng really happy as a secretary at the end, or he is just pretending for his superiors?

Minister Gao is a drama-only character.

Comments

[china_shop]

I still haven't rewatched the back half of the show, so I'm not sure I can answer all the questions, but this is a really great post. *appreciates a lot*

I always felt like Minister Gao was an average middle manager -- not particularly gifted or savvy but not bad either, except that he's just really terrible in a crisis. Alas.

ETA: I was just wondering what his role is. Presumably he oversees the police as well as the SID, but what other responsibilities does he have? Given he has the authority to call in the military and to release the serum, is he the head of the DoS? Is the DoS just two people and a lab -- or do we just never see the bureaucrats in charge of public works, education, transport, etc? (And why isn't there a waiting room/seating area outside his office? I wonder if that's normal in Haixing/China.)

Zhao Xinci is someone Minister Gao looks up to and is somewhat close to.

I wonder whether Zhao Xinci stayed in touch more than he otherwise might have, to keep tabs on Zhao Yunlan without Zhao Yunlan knowing. I also wonder how much Zhao Xinci having a secret (Zhang Shi) would have made him close himself off and have a more superficial connection than he otherwise might, and whether or not Minister Gao would have noticed this. Jingfeng must have been proud to have such a successful connection, anyway; it probably stood him in good stead, as he rose from street cop to minister. I suspect Zhao Xinci was the brains of the partnership, back in the day, and Minister Gao might have learned from him.

1. Did Minister Gao make any good decisions?

He doesn't hand Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei over the Ye Zun, so there's that? He sees through Ye Zun's tactic: "He is obviously trying to drive a wedge between us. I won't fall for that."

2. Gao Jingfeng is there when Zhang Shi chooses Zhao Xinci as his new host. What if Zhang Shi had inhabited Gao Jingfeng instead?

Ooh, that's such an interesting question. How much of Zhao Xinci's drive and purpose came from Zhang Shi? Would Zhang Shi have chafed at being tied to a desk while the SID chased down his compatriots without him? Or would Gao Jingfeng have ended up running (or interfering with) the SID, if he'd had Zhang Shi egging him on?

3. Do you think Minister Gao ever knew Shen Wei was a Dixing person or the Black-Cloaked Envoy? What if Minister Gao had found out Shen Wei was a Dixing person when they first met?

I thought he knew Shen Wei was Dixingren from the outset and just wasn't prejudiced about it, given Shen Wei saved him (and the rest of the wedding guests) and has respectable Haixing trappings. After all, the SID already employs a Dixingren. (Ooh, I wonder if he ever met Chu Shuzhi?!) He saw Shen Wei use his power, so what other conclusion could he have drawn? In fact, at the meeting after ZYL recruits Shen Wei, I thought ZYL went in first to basically go, "Please don't mention it. Professor Shen prefers not to talk about it."

(I also think Minister Gao might have mentioned it to Zhao Xinci, and that's why Zhao Xinci warned Zhao Yunlan off, but that's more headcanony.)

I don't know if/when he found out Shen Wei was the Envoy, though. Would Zhao Xinci have told him, or would he have respected Shen Wei's privacy? Idk.

4. What does Minister Gao fear the most?

I don't know if it's public unrest or a hostile Dixing invasion. Or making a wrong decision that leads to unintended badness. Or losing his cushy high-status desk job. Yeah, I don't know.

[trobadora]

I don't know if/when he found out Shen Wei was the Envoy, though. Would Zhao Xinci have told him, or would he have respected Shen Wei's privacy? Idk.

I don't think Zhao Xinci would have kept it quiet specifically out of respect for Shen Wei's privacy, but he wouldn't have spread it around either without anything real to gain from it.

[sakana17]

ETA: I was just wondering what his role is. Presumably he oversees the police as well as the SID, but what other responsibilities does he have? Given he has the authority to call in the military and to release the serum, is he the head of the DoS? Is the DoS just two people and a lab -- or do we just never see the bureaucrats in charge of public works, education, transport, etc?

I wondered this, too. Yeah, his role might be head of public security, including the police. I do wonder where the rest of the bureaucracy is. Is Minister Gao in charge of all of it, but we don't see that part? Or are there other bureaucrats in charge of the other services?

(And why isn't there a waiting room/seating area outside his office? I wonder if that's normal in Haixing/China.)

His office is huge and has three different sections, including a seating area in the entrance section. It's odd that it's inside the office! I kept mentally adding sliding doors that would close off the seating part from the desk part, but no, there aren't any doors. Just the fancy decorative interior windows. (I love his office, lol.)

How much of Zhao Xinci's drive and purpose came from Zhang Shi? Would Zhang Shi have chafed at being tied to a desk while the SID chased down his compatriots without him? Or would Gao Jingfeng have ended up running (or interfering with) the SID, if he'd had Zhang Shi egging him on?

Yes, I keep thinking about this. Zhang Shi implies that Zhao Xinci's obsessive drive to capture Dixing people comes after his wife's death, and I always wonder how that influenced how Zhang Shi interacted with Zhao Xinci. If Zhang Shi was in Gao Jingfeng who never had that kind of experience, what would have happened? Maybe Gao Jingfeng could've risen even higher with Zhang Shi's help? Or I can imagine Gao Jingfeng being too upset by Zhang Shi making him his host that he resists or refuses to cooperate.

[china_shop]

*swoons at your icon*

His office is huge and has three different sections, including a seating area in the entrance section. It's odd that it's inside the office! I kept mentally adding sliding doors that would close off the seating part from the desk part, but no, there aren't any doors. Just the fancy decorative interior windows. (I love his office, lol.)

It is very fancy! :-)

Randomly, I was just rewatching some scenes while writing my Zhang Shi post (pending), and I laughed at how, when Minister Gao has just been knocked out by Zhang Shi, Li Qian comes in and talks to ZXC/Zhang Shi without any apparent concern for her unconscious boss just lying there! I realise more important things afoot, but she doesn't seem at all surprised to see ZXC standing over the body, or to consider that medical attention might be called for. *g*

[sakana17]

she doesn't seem at all surprised to see ZXC standing over the body, or to consider that medical attention might be called for. *g*

That is pretty funny. It might say something about Li Qian's opinion of Minister Gao, at least at that moment. *g*

[nnozomi]

Excellent post. I just have a couple of little things.
1. Did Minister Gao make any good decisions?
okay, this made me straight-up laugh as a question. I have not thought it through deeply but my immediate answer would be something like "Possibly, but only by accident"?

Having done my time as a secretary to important officials, I am kind of annoyed by the show's implication that incompetence means demotion to secretary status; being a good secretary is hard. (As Zhao Xinci points out, I guess, although it's hard to tell how serious he is.) Or maybe it's an illustration of the whatsit Principle, where Minister Gao was ineffectual and miserable when promoted above his capacity, but able to handle his job efficiently when he didn't have a large burden of responsibility coming with it...?

[trobadora]

Or maybe it's an illustration of the whatsit Principle, where Minister Gao was ineffectual and miserable when promoted above his capacity, but able to handle his job efficiently when he didn't have a large burden of responsibility coming with it...?

The Peter Principle!

My impression was that Minister Gao is fine as an administrator (not brilliant or anything, but basically competent at the day-to-day stuff), but a horrible person to be in charge in a crisis. He makes worse and worse calls the worse the situation gets.

[sakana17]

Or maybe it's an illustration of the whatsit Principle, where Minister Gao was ineffectual and miserable when promoted above his capacity, but able to handle his job efficiently when he didn't have a large burden of responsibility coming with it...?

Yeah, I don't like the implication of "demotion" to secretary because it is such a hard job. I interpret Gao Jingfeng becoming a secretary as finding the right fit for him, playing to his strengths instead of saddling him with the types of responsibilities he didn't want to deal with.

[trobadora]

I think Minister Gao is a really interesting character! When we meet him, looks and behaves so much like the stereotypical bureaucrat, I instinctively expected him to be way more awful than he turned out to be - even though I probably shouldn't have, given China. Wrong tropes to bring to the table? But I do appreciate that while he is very definitely an antagonist at several points, and does genuinely bad things, he doesn't appear to be an entirely terrible person.

Although Minister Gao says he has faith in Zhao Yunlan, he frequently disapproves of Zhao Yunlan's unusual methods of running the SID (such as letting Da Qing impersonate someone from the Xingdu Bureau to release Lin Jing and Cong Bo from being detained).

I mean, any superior would have to disapprove of someone impersonating an official on principle. I can't hold that against him.

And as Professor Ouyang's serum experiments ramp up, Minister Gao attempts to block information from the SID.

I always did wonder how much that was his idea, and how much Zhao Xinci manipulated him into that. Zhao Xinci was the one who pushed the scientists into cutting corners with their experiments, after all. And he could easily have told Minister Gao that his son was still too young and inexperienced to ~understand the important choices they have to make. Which would still make it a bad call on Minister Gao's part, but a different kind of bad call than if it was his own idea, if that makes sense.

Zhao Xinci is going to ask the Xingdu Bureau to hand over Minister Gao's executive powers to him

I still find this infuriating because surely Zhao Xinci is no less culpable in this whole mess than Minister Gao. But at the same time, at that point what else could Zhao Xinci have done?

Did Minister Gao make any good decisions?

He saw a man use a lot of power to knock out an entire wedding, relised the guy was helping, and decided he liked that guy and wanted him on his side. He didn't seem to see Shen Wei as a potential threat at all. And he never for a moment considered betraying Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei to Ye Zun.

Gao Jingfeng is there when Zhang Shi chooses Zhao Xinci as his new host. What if Zhang Shi had inhabited Gao Jingfeng instead?

Oooh, interesting question! I think it could have worked out, and Zhang Shi might have either helped or exacerbated Minister Gao's bad reaction to a crisis, due to making him feel either more or less in control. I honestly can't tell which way round would be more likely.

Do you think Minister Gao ever knew Shen Wei was a Dixing person or the Black-Cloaked Envoy? What if Minister Gao had found out Shen Wei was a Dixing person when they first met?

Huh. I don't see what else he could have thought at the wedding, seeing someone use black energy like that? I thought he did realise Shen Wei was Dixingren, and showed himself less prejudiced than Zhao Xinci in that scene.

I don't know if he ever found out Shen Wei was the Black-Cloaked Envoy. Actually, considering it now, I think he might actually have taken that not too badly ...

What does Minister Gao fear the most?

Not knowing what to do. He makes his worst calls when he feels overwhelmed, the stakes are high, and doesn't know how to get things back under control.

Is Gao Jingfeng really happy as a secretary at the end, or he is just pretending for his superiors?

I think he's probably not happy at all, but he wasn't able to cope with the stress of his position in a time of crisis. The worse things got, the worse he got. He's probably more competent at a level where he doesn't have to make life-or-death decisions.

[sakana17]

But I do appreciate that while he is very definitely an antagonist at several points, and does genuinely bad things, he doesn't appear to be an entirely terrible person.

Yes, I noticed while I was rewatching all the Minister Gao scenes that he genuinely seems concerned about people he knows. He's concerned about Zhao Xinci's health, he's concerned about Professor Ouyang's increasingly volatile mood swings. And he's friendly when he greets Shen Wei as the new member of the SID team. I also expected him to be far worse than he was, and I find him interesting because he's a bad bureaucrat in a very believable way: he's in over his head and doesn't cope well with the pressure. I was always struck by the moment when he admits this - that every decision he makes effects thousands of lives.

any superior would have to disapprove of someone impersonating an official on principle

:D True!

Which would still make it a bad call on Minister Gao's part, but a different kind of bad call than if it was his own idea, if that makes sense.

That does make sense, and I can see it being Zhao Xinci's idea and pressure to keep things from the SID, and Minister Gao going along with it. He probably trusts Zhao Xinci more, anyway, because he knows him better and he looks up to him.

>>Zhao Xinci is going to ask the Xingdu Bureau to hand over Minister Gao's executive powers to him

I still find this infuriating because surely Zhao Xinci is no less culpable in this whole mess than Minister Gao. But at the same time, at that point what else could Zhao Xinci have done?

I also wondered what this means, too. I thought Zhao Xinci was head of the Xingdu Bureau, so who is he going to ask? He could just take over, couldn't he? But if there is a governing council or advisory board or something, it's interesting that even at that moment, Zhao Xinci is going to ask. But yes, I agree - Zhao Xinci is as culpable as Minister Gao for the mess. He can't sit back, though, with the decisions Minister Gao's making.

I don't see what else he could have thought at the wedding, seeing someone use black energy like that? I thought he did realise Shen Wei was Dixingren, and showed himself less prejudiced than Zhao Xinci in that scene.

It's funny! The consensus is that of course he knew, and for whatever reason I never felt that he knew from the start, despite the wedding. I guess I was too primed for him to act more prejudiced against Dixing people. He does have that line in episode 14 that Cong Bo is "more frightening than Dixing people," and saying it in front of Shen Wei makes me wince, but it's a believable kind of less-cranked-up prejudice.

I don't know if he ever found out Shen Wei was the Black-Cloaked Envoy.

I don't know, either. He might know by the time he tells Prof. Ouyang that Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei don't deserve to be betrayed to Ye Zun. I agree with you that Zhao Xinci would tell (or not tell) based on how it benefitted Zhao Xinci, the Haixing Inspectorate, or Minister Gao - not out of any respect for Shen Wei.

He's probably more competent at a level where he doesn't have to make life-or-death decisions.

I think he is, and I think he might be happier in his new role, because being in a position where he was forced to face his own shortcomings in a crisis was stressful. Maybe he originally wanted to become minister for the perks of being promoted (like his fancy office!) but the responsibilities that came with the job weren't what he was prepared for.

[trobadora]

I also wondered what this means, too. I thought Zhao Xinci was head of the Xingdu Bureau, so who is he going to ask? He could just take over, couldn't he? But if there is a governing council or advisory board or something, it's interesting that even at that moment, Zhao Xinci is going to ask.

Presumably there's still a government above the Xingdu Bureau, and what Zhao Xinci can legally do may be limited. I mean, even if the Xingdu Bureau can give orders to Minister Gao that doesn't mean they have authority to fire or replace him? It depends on who appoints those posts, I suppose.

But honestly, I'm glad there's some sign of oversight even for Zhao Xinci!

He does have that line in episode 14 that Cong Bo is "more frightening than Dixing people," and saying it in front of Shen Wei makes me wince, but it's a believable kind of less-cranked-up prejudice.

Oh, good catch! I'd forgotten about that line. Yeah, I could totally see that as a sort of well-meaning condescending bigotry, saying Haixingren can be worse than Dixingren. And Minister Gao clearly does find Dixingren in general frightening, even if not every individual Dixingren. As you said above, Shen Wei's respectable image probably makes it a lot easier for him.

Maybe he originally wanted to become minister for the perks of being promoted (like his fancy office!) but the responsibilities that came with the job weren't what he was prepared for.

Yeah, and maybe he thought he could handle it, right until he couldn't. After all, there were years before this where everything was quiet - I'm sure he had no problem then. *g*