194: Chapter 194 County Party Secretary

In the Qingjiang County Party Committee building, at the end of the third floor, was the Deputy Secretary's office.

When Secretary Qiu Dehai pushed open the door and entered, it was different from his last visit.

There were no pleasantries, nor was there that cup of hot tea that signified the level of intimacy.

Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan sat upright behind the large solid wood desk, reading an internal reference briefing from the County Political and Legal Affairs Commission.

"Secretary Qin."

Secretary Qiu Dehai's voice was dry, and he leaned forward slightly.

Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan did not look up; he pressed his fingers against the paper.

After a long while, he closed the briefing and lifted his gaze to look at Secretary Qiu Dehai.

"The fire in Heishi Town is burning very brightly," Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan said in a very flat tone. "The people from the County Commission for Discipline Inspection went there, but instead of putting out the fire, they became a knife in someone else's hand. You, as the Town Party Secretary, are acting quite tough."

Secretary Qiu Dehai knew the other man's temperament well; offering excuses now would only make his situation worse.

Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan crossed his fingers and rested them on the desk.

"I will only ask you one thing."

"Do you, yourself, have any problems?"

Secretary Qiu Dehai's Adam's apple bobbed with difficulty, and he stammered for a long time.

"Secretary Qin, I have worked at the grassroots level for most of my life, and I am never confused when it comes to matters of right and wrong. It's just... you know how it is; township work is complicated, with a lot of hosting and entertaining. During the holidays, comrades from the stations or the village secretaries might bring a couple of bottles of cigarettes or alcohol to pay a visit. This is just human nature; it doesn't count as a major problem, does it?"

Social niceties, cigarettes, and alcohol.

After listening, Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan understood everything.

This kind of evasive nonsense might fool an outsider, but Secretary Qiu Dehai's foundation was likely already rotten to the core.

Counting on such a mediocre talent to go head-to-head with Zhu Yuntong was nothing but a pipe dream.

However, the overall situation could not be abandoned.

The task Mayor Su Changming had entrusted to him was to keep Zhu Yuntong firmly suppressed in Heishi Town, to grind down his spirit and sever his roots.

Now that Zhu Yuntong was riding the momentum of Secretary Pang Jianguo from the County Commission for Discipline Inspection and winning victory after victory, if he were allowed to turn Heishi Town upside down, what prestige would he, as the Deputy Secretary of the County Party Committee, have left? And he would have no way to answer to Mayor Su.

"Cigarettes and alcohol are nothing; they don't count as capital crimes," Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan leaned back in his chair. "However, Secretary Pang of the County Commission for Discipline Inspection has been making frequent moves lately, and that is not a good sign."

"To suppress the Discipline Inspection Commission, relying solely on me, a Deputy Secretary, is unjustifiable," Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan pointed out the crux of the matter. "For a Discipline Inspection Commission at the same level, only the top leader of the Party Committee at that same level has the absolute power of check and balance."

The County Party Committee Secretary, Secretary Lu Guoliang.

A glimmer of hope ignited in Secretary Qiu Dehai's eyes, only to dim again immediately.

Secretary Lu Guoliang had always sat firmly on his perch, seeking the balance of the entire county; why would he go head-to-head with the Discipline Inspection Commission for the sake of a township cadre like him?

"Secretary Lu Guoliang has always had his own calculations regarding the development of the leadership team under him," Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan stood up. "He especially values the stability of the team. Moreover, these past few days, things in the County Party Committee building have not been peaceful. There have been some discordant noises coming from the County Government side."

Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan took out a red-headed report and slapped it on the table.

"A motion submitted by County Mayor Gu Mingchuan," Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan tapped his knuckles on the document. "He proposes that Old Ma, the Director of the County Government Office, be appointed as Deputy County Mayor. At the same time, he wants to install his own person in the vacant position of Director of the Government Office."

Secretary Qiu Dehai was also an old hand in officialdom and understood the implications instantly.

Who was Old Ma? He was an iron nail that Secretary Lu Guoliang had planted in the throat of the County Government years ago.

Now, County Mayor Gu Mingchuan wanted to pull out this nail.

This was tantamount to touching Secretary Lu Guoliang's sore spot.

County Mayor Gu Mingchuan and Secretary Pang Jianguo had been getting very close lately. If these two were to form an impenetrable alliance in Qingjiang County, Secretary Lu Guoliang's position would become passive.

Blocking Zhu Yuntong and preserving the old structure of Heishi Town meant cutting off the tentacles of County Mayor Gu Mingchuan.

This was exactly what Secretary Lu Guoliang needed most right now.

"I understand, Secretary Qin." Secretary Qiu Dehai's previously hunched back straightened slightly, and color returned to his face.

"Let's go," Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan picked up the motion document. "I will accompany you. We still need to add some fuel to the fire on Secretary Lu Guoliang's end so it can burn brightly."

The two walked one after the other to the County Party Committee Secretary's office.

After they entered, the office door was tightly shut.

This secret talk lasted for a full hour, during which no sounds of argument leaked out.

When the door was opened again, Secretary Qiu Dehai retreated, following behind Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan.

The panic that had covered his face when he entered had long since dissipated, replaced by the relief of someone who had survived a disaster; his steps even showed a bit of lightness.

Half an hour later, in the office of the Secretary of the Qingjiang County Commission for Discipline Inspection.

Secretary Pang Jianguo had just finished a lengthy Standing Committee meeting of the Discipline Inspection Commission. During the meeting, he had announced the preliminary investigation results of the Village Secretary Zhang Dahai case and the Director Zhang Qiu case, suppressing the counterattack from Deputy Secretary Tian Wenguang.

Just as he returned to his office and sat down, the phone on his desk rang.

"Secretary Lu Guoliang." Secretary Pang Jianguo looked at the caller ID.

"Comrade Pang Jianguo. The problems recently uncovered in Heishi Town have had a very bad impact, and the County Party Committee attaches great importance to this." Secretary Lu Guoliang's voice was dignified. "This concerns the stability of grassroots political power. Bring all the materials regarding the Heishi Town case to my office tomorrow morning. I want to hear a detailed report."

Listening to the report was the pretext; tightening the leash was the real intent.

The case had reached a critical juncture, and the top leader was intervening suddenly; this was an attempt to draw a red line.

"Understood, Secretary Lu Guoliang. I will arrive on time tomorrow morning." Secretary Pang Jianguo replied and hung up the phone.

A short while later, in the office of the Deputy Minister of the County Party Committee Organization Department.

Deputy Minister Li Ming received a call from Secretary Lu Guoliang.

"Li Ming," Secretary Lu Guoliang started chatting on the phone. "I have seen the motion regarding Old Ma's promotion to Deputy County Mayor. Comrade Old Ma has worked in the Government Office for so many years and has made great contributions; the organization should certainly recognize that, and I support this."

Secretary Lu Guoliang changed the subject.

"However, the position of Director of the Government Office is the core hub connecting the operation of government affairs. We cannot have a situation where one person has the final say in the selection, nor can we make decisions on a whim. We must broaden our vision for selecting people and let more qualified comrades participate. Your Organization Department must strictly control this."

Supporting the promotion on the surface, while secretly blocking the channel to replace the person. This was Secretary Lu Guoliang's tactic.

Deputy Minister Li Ming nodded repeatedly in agreement.

After hanging up, he stared at the roster of cadres on his desk, his mind racing.

The Minister of the County Party Committee Organization Department had been hospitalized for several months, and he had been acting in charge of daily affairs; this was a critical period for evaluating him. Secretary Lu Guoliang's words were ostensibly about personnel, but in reality, they were intended to make him go and compete with County Mayor Gu Mingchuan to check and balance the personnel power of the County Government.

If he handled this matter beautifully, the "Deputy" title above his head would finally be removed.

The undercurrents in Qingjiang County had already gathered into a vortex.

Lead-gray clouds pressed down over Heishi Town, and the cold wind blew, making the window frames rattle.

Inside the Deputy Secretary's office.

Director Xu Jie placed a stack of neatly organized A4 papers squarely in front of Zhu Yuntong's large desk.

"Zhu Yuntong, the comparison results are out," Director Xu Jie said concisely. "Combining the Zhang family genealogy of Heishi Village provided privately by Zhang Yuanhang with the household registration records from previous years, the list of names on that joint whistleblower letter has been completely exposed."

She extended her finger and tapped on the table at the top.

"The one hundred and thirty-seven signatures and red fingerprints on this letter, after verification, are extremely mixed in composition."

"The first part is indeed people from Heishi Village. The vast majority are concentrated in the eldest branch of the Zhang family. This group of people received the land acquisition compensation—some received the full amount, some received half—and they can be considered vested interests."

"The second part consists of villagers from the second and third branches of the Zhang family. In all fairness, these people didn't even see a shadow of the compensation money and have been bullied by the eldest branch for years." Director Xu Jie's tone carried a hint of mockery. "The traces of proxy signatures and forced fingerprints on the whistleblower letter are very obvious. There are even a few handwriting samples that clearly came from the same person."

"What's interesting is this third part." Director Xu Jie turned to the second page. "There are more than thirty names that simply do not appear on the compensation list. When I pulled them up in the household registration system, these names were either registered households from other villages or simply people who don't exist."

To forge to this extent, the methods were extremely crude.

Zhu Yuntong picked up a coarse porcelain teacup and took a sip of warm water.

"This is normal." Zhu Yuntong set down the teacup.

"Heishi Village is just a natural village; where would they find so many 'enthusiastic masses' with nothing better to do who are keen on writing whistleblower letters?"

"Clan Elder Zhang Laoqi and his gang have turned the clan into their private property. Within the eldest branch, they can only guarantee that the core members get to eat meat. As for those collateral branches, they are just chips used by them to make up numbers and build momentum."

"The second and third branches have been bullied for a long time, and their resentment has long been boiling beneath the surface. Where there is oppression, there is a rift. By forging this list, they are not only insulting the intelligence of the discipline inspection authorities, but they are also lighting a fire with the grievances of the grassroots."

Director Xu Jie listened quietly; she knew that the man in front of her never did useless work. Since he had investigated the details, there must be a follow-up move.

She was about to ask about the next step.

The mobile phone on the desk emitted a long vibration.

Zhu Yuntong did not avoid Director Xu Jie; he answered the call in front of her and held the phone to his ear.

This call lasted for a full ten minutes.

Throughout the call, Zhu Yuntong only responded with a few scattered "Understood" and "I know," with no extra questions; his emotions were like a deep well, without a single ripple.

Director Xu Jie stood before the desk, maintaining absolute silence.

She could sense that the information conveyed in this call carried great weight.

Ten minutes later.

Zhu Yuntong moved the phone away and pressed the hang-up button with his index finger.

"Director Xu Jie." Zhu Yuntong straightened the cuffs of his dark jacket.

"Our Secretary Qiu Dehai did not make this trip to the county town in vain."

"He has successfully brought in his reinforcements."