Right path to power

After hesitating for a few seconds, Zhu Lishu said calmly, "Lin Xiao is young after all, and her way of handling problems may be a little different. She just sometimes seems to have a strong personality."

She gave a wry smile and continued, "Don't even mention Luo Jinlian, even I sometimes stick to my own opinions. Maybe all young people are the same."

Ma Guanghua's face twitched slightly; he already knew the true purpose of Zhu Lishu's visit.

"As the county party secretary, you need to control the overall direction. First of all, getting things done ultimately depends on people, so you need to have a firm grasp on personnel matters so that the cadre team can be well commanded. Secondly, you need to be good at uniting the majority. The leadership of Fuchuan County underwent frequent adjustments recently, but it has finally stabilized. As the top leader, you need to have more heart-to-heart talks with your colleagues to unify everyone's thinking. Finally, when looking at problems, you can't just focus on your immediate area; you need to take a long-term view."

As he spoke, he leaned back in his chair and continued slowly, "Within the team, there will be cooperation and disagreements. We seek consensus through compromise. The leader is the helmsman, whose core responsibility is to control the course and ensure that the entire ship does not deviate from its direction."

Julie leaned forward, revealing a charming smile, her cheeks flushed, and said, "Thank you, Mayor. It seems I've been too concerned about other people's feelings."

Ma Guanghua stood up and said with admiration, "Lin Xiao is young after all, and he has the enthusiasm to get things done and start a business, but his way of handling problems may be inappropriate. You need to help him keep things on track. This position as secretary of the Fuchuan County Party Committee is very important, as it relates to your next step. You must make the most of it. If you need me to coordinate anything, just give me a call."

"Okay, thank you, Mayor."

Julie is elegant and graceful.

Afterwards, the two talked about other work-related topics.

In the evening, Ma Guanghua also arrived at Shengyuan Hotel. In addition to Zhu Lishu, Han Chengdong, Secretary-General of the Municipal Government, and Luo Jinlian, Director of the Municipal Finance Bureau, were also present at the banquet.

The atmosphere at the dinner was very harmonious; we didn't talk about work, only about friendship.

The following morning.

Not long after Zhu Lishu entered the office, she asked Dong Yimei, the director of the county party committee office, to notify everyone that there would be a meeting at ten o'clock. There were two main topics: one was to make arrangements for the work in the near future; the other was to make preparations for the visit of Acting Mayor Ma Guanghua.

Julie Shu sat in the main seat, looking radiant. Her tone was decisive and resolute, as if she were a completely different person from her previous gentle and eloquent manner.

Throughout the meeting, she spoke almost entirely, giving instructions and requirements on all aspects of the county's work. She pointed out that the county party committee should strengthen the overall coordination and target promotion of major projects, hold regular work scheduling meetings, and ensure that all assessment indicators reach a new level by the end of the third quarter.

"Comrades, there are only about twenty days left until the end of the third quarter, and the year will soon be coming to a close. All cadres at all levels in the county must get moving and carefully review all assessment indicators. All departments and units should aim to be among the top three in the city's assessment. If they achieve this, the county will reward them; if they fail to do so, the county will hold them accountable. Only by having a proper balance of rewards and punishments can we maximize their initiative."

Comrades of the county party committee and county government must closely monitor their assigned work, focusing on problems and goals, ensuring implementation and execution, while adhering to a results-oriented approach. They must not simply relay or make demands; they must lead by example, frequently visit grassroots levels, actively liaise with higher-level units, and lead their respective units to achieve predetermined objectives…

Listening to Juliet's unusually long speech, many people were filled with doubts—what's wrong with her? Why has she suddenly become so high-profile? These thoughts were even blurted out without prior communication.

"Does she want to completely control the situation, or is she retaliating for what happened yesterday?"

Lin Xiao pondered to himself, and couldn't help but sigh. He really didn't want to waste his energy on this kind of internal strife.

However, Deputy Secretary Gao Chengce was secretly delighted: "Zhu Lishu is so domineering? Judging from her tone, she wants to interfere in everything? Could it be that she and Lin Xiao have a conflict? Hehe, I've always said that two tigers cannot share the same mountain, and they were bound to turn against each other sooner or later, but I didn't expect it to happen so quickly. It seems that the opportunity has arrived."

He turned his gaze to Shu Xiaobing, and seeing that she also looked surprised and doubtful, he couldn't help but smile knowingly.

He and Shu Xiaobing have now formed a united front.

Previously, Lin Xiao and Zhu Lishu worked closely together, and even if others joined forces, they couldn't achieve much. Now that there's a rift between them, a third party can be formed.

In this way, his and Shu Xiaobing's voice in the Standing Committee was greatly increased, since no matter which side they stood on, it was enough to change the balance of power between the two sides.

Lin Xiao has close relationships with Qi Mingchen, the executive deputy county head, Yang Xueting, the secretary of the discipline inspection commission, and He Zhiqiang, the head of the organization department.

Zhu Lishu has the support of Dong Yimei, director of the county party committee office, and Tang Meiyun, deputy county head, while Ji Qingjun, the head of the people's armed forces department, usually chooses to be in sync with the county party secretary.

As for An Xu, the secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, he currently appears to be a centrist. Gao Chengce had previously contacted him, but he has never expressed his position.

In other words, whichever side Gao Chengce and Shu Xiaobing chooses will secure a majority of votes in the Standing Committee meeting.

Unexpectedly, they became the decisive factor.

September 9th.

Acting Mayor Ma Guanghua visited Fuchuan County to conduct research, inspected Zhongdingyuan's mining project and Changning River cultural tourism project, and went to the county's No. 1 Middle School to extend early Teachers' Day greetings to the teachers.

After the research trip, Ma Guanghua spent an evening in Fuchuan County, where he had separate conversations with several county leaders.

The following day, after seeing Ma Guanghua off, Zhu Lishu immediately convened a meeting to discuss and arrange the implementation of the mayor's instructions regarding the research work.

Zhu Lishu, her face flushed and her voice impassioned, said, "Comrades, Mayor Ma's visit to Fuchuan for research is an affirmation of our past work. However, we cannot rest on our laurels. Instead, we must seize this opportunity to unify our thinking and accelerate our actions. Regarding the key tasks for the near future, I would like to make a few requests: First, we must coordinate and do a good job in the restructuring of Xinyuan Coal Mine..."

Lin Xiao listened quietly, but he had already sensed something different—Zhu Lishu wanted to use Ma Guanghua's research trip as an opportunity to establish her authority.

Or, one could say that Ma Guanghua was the ally she invited.

Thinking of this, Lin Xiao frowned and looked serious.

Subsequently, Zhu Lishu raised several requirements for the restructuring of Xinyuan Coal Mine and proposed that Li Changshou, the deputy county head in charge of industry and transportation, take the lead in this work.

She didn't communicate with Lin Xiao beforehand about this arrangement; instead, she brought it up directly at the meeting without intending to consult Lin Xiao's opinion.

This made Lin Xiao even more dissatisfied. He had already explained the ideas and pros and cons of the restructuring of Xinyuan Coal Mine very clearly, but Zhu Lishu still wanted to interfere. It seemed that she was determined to thoroughly exercise the authority of the Party Secretary.

The others quickly realized that Juliet's assertiveness today seemed to be aimed at Lin Xiao, but they didn't understand why the two, who had been cooperating well, suddenly had a falling out.

Is it really true that two tigers cannot share one mountain?

At this moment, Tang Meiyun felt a sense of pride—it was the right thing to do to get closer to Zhu Lishu.

Next, Zhu Lishu arranged several tasks and made special requests to the Finance Bureau, emphasizing the need to strengthen the overall planning of funds across the county.

This meeting almost continued the atmosphere of the previous meeting. Zhu Lishu was in high spirits throughout, seemingly full of energy, or rather, she was declaring the authority of the top leader the whole time.

After all, it's not a good thing for the top two leaders to have disagreements, so choosing sides becomes extremely important.

After the meeting, Zhu Lishu called He Zhiqiang, the organization minister, into her office and instructed him to expedite the selection and evaluation of candidates for several vacant positions, directly naming a few names.

He Zhiqiang readily agreed. After leaving Zhu Lishu's office, he paused briefly in the corridor before turning and walking into Lin Xiao's office.

The positions that need to be filled this time include five positions: deputy director of the county government office, deputy director of the finance bureau, and mayor of Guankou town. Among them, two are at the level of section chief and three are at the level of deputy section chief.

When Lin Xiao heard Zhu Lishu mention four names in one breath, especially her suggestion to promote Zhou Dingkun from the Finance Section of the County Party Committee Office to Deputy Director of the Finance Bureau, he frowned.

He had considered these five positions before. He would recommend the deputy director of the county government office, and he had also discussed with Wei Wenjuan the deputy director of the finance bureau, preparing to promote a key business person from within the finance bureau.

With the top two officials of the Finance Bureau getting into trouble one after another, morale is low. Promoting one from within the bureau would actually help calm people down and also facilitate the work.

"I propose Wang Xinghong for the position of Deputy Director of the County Government Office; as for the Finance Bureau, being a specialized department, I suggest selecting a highly qualified professional from within to serve as Deputy Director. I have discussed this with Comrade Wei Wenjuan, and we both agree that Xue Jiahao, the head of the Accounting Management Section, is qualified and capable enough for the position. For other positions, I suggest prioritizing candidates with outstanding performance and a strong grassroots foundation..."

He Zhiqiang noted down Lin Xiao's suggestions one by one, and then said tactfully, "Secretary Zhu has been very enthusiastic about his work these past two days."

Lin Xiao smiled helplessly and remained silent.

"The current situation in Fuchuan County is hard-won and embodies your hard work. If it's just a disagreement about work, find an opportunity to communicate properly to prevent those with ulterior motives from taking advantage of it."

Faced with He Zhiqiang's persuasion, Lin Xiao nodded: "I will pay attention. You are right. It's okay to have differences at work, but we must not affect the development momentum of Fuchuan."

After He Zhiqiang left, Lin Xiao pondered for a while in his office before getting up and heading to Zhu Lishu's office.