Right path to power

An Xu looked up and said, "Professionals should do professional things. I personally support Xue Jiahao being appointed as deputy director."

Zhu Lishu frowned slightly—this person, who always spoke last, had surprisingly sided with Lin Xiao today.

She didn't press Ji Qingjun further, but instead turned to the calm Lin Xiao and asked, "Comrade Lin Xiao, what's your opinion?"

She thought to herself—this kid is no pushover. He's managed to get four votes without her even realizing it, and with his own votes, that makes five. He's just one vote away from getting a majority.

If the top leader of the Party Committee cannot control the Standing Committee, the work will become very passive.

At the same time, a leader who cannot gain the trust of the majority within the Party will inevitably not leave a good impression on his superiors.

However, Zhu Lishu has reached a consensus with Gao Chengce, and with Ji Qingjun, who should follow the crowd, the situation in the Standing Committee is still within a controllable range.

Lin Xiao smiled and said, "My suggestion is that Xue Jiahao should serve as the deputy director of the Finance Bureau."

His answer was simple and clear, without any unnecessary words.

Zhu Lishu nodded: "Having just listened to the comrades' opinions and considering the needs of the work, I think Zhou Dingkun is more suitable. By the way, Comrade Qingjun, what's your opinion?"

Ji Qingjun sat upright in his seat from the beginning of the meeting, and his expression hardly changed, as if he were an outsider.

However, the next second, he said in a loud voice, "I agree with County Magistrate Lin's opinion."

Juliet was taken aback, thinking she had misheard: "You mean...."

Ji Qingjun said firmly, "That's right, I also think Xue Jiahao is the most suitable person to serve as deputy director."

Juliet's face turned ashen; her previous confidence vanished instantly, replaced by a look of utter astonishment.

A look of surprise flashed across everyone's eyes.

What's going on?

Six members of the Standing Committee supported Xue Jiahao, which is more than half.

How did Lin Xiao manage to do that?

An eerie silence fell over the conference room.

No one could have predicted that things would turn out this way.

The political commissar of the People's Armed Forces Department, who was supposed to follow the county party secretary, actually "defected," thus allowing Lin Xiao to gain control of more than half of the Standing Committee.

These past few days, Juliet has been acting in a high-profile manner, not only asserting her stance but also frequently speaking with people, leading everyone to believe that she is about to take control of the situation.

Who would have thought it would turn out like this?

If An Xu's attitude is understandable, what about Ji Qingjun?

However, now is not the time to get to the bottom of things.

In reality, Zhu Lishu only had two options: one was to respect the collective opinion and accept Xue Jiahao's appointment as deputy director of the Finance Bureau; the other was to postpone the vote on the grounds of significant differences and report the matter to the municipal party committee for a decision.

Therefore, she actually has very little room for maneuver.

After all, even if the matter escalates to the city level, she has virtually no chance of turning the tables.

Ignoring the majority consensus of the Standing Committee and forcibly pushing forward one's own will carries certain political risks.

Moreover, Lin Xiao certainly won't let this go easily.

However, accepting the majority consensus of the Standing Committee would undoubtedly be a blow to her authority as the top leader.

After a moment, Zhu Lishu said in a deep voice, "Since the comrades have reached a majority opinion, then Xue Jiahao will serve as the deputy director of the Finance Bureau. Please have the Organization Department proceed with the next steps and strive to get the relevant comrades into their work as soon as possible."

Yes, she chose to obey the majority!

She may seem to have the power of choice or decision-making, but her room for maneuver is not large, because the consequences of weakening the party's political credibility are more serious than those of suppressing or restraining opponents.

"Yes, Secretary, the Organization Department will implement the Standing Committee's resolution as soon as possible."

"Now we will move on to the second item on the agenda. Comrade Lin Xiao will introduce the restructuring plan for Xinyuan Coal Mine."

At this moment, her momentum had clearly weakened.

It seems that the failure in personnel matters has somewhat dampened her confidence.

Lin Xiao calmly introduced the reform plan, pointing out that a preliminary agreement had been reached with Zhongdingyuan. Zhongdingyuan would take the lead in integrating the county's coal mining industry, using Xinyuan Coal Mine as a fulcrum. It was initially estimated that at least 300 million yuan would be invested in technological transformation and upgrading, while retraining and resettling miners.

Juliet was taken aback again. This plan was quite different from the previous one. It directly designated Zhongdingyuan to operate the project instead of publicly soliciting partners.

Clearly, this is yet another counterattack by County Chief Lin against Zhu Lishu.

The key issue is that she still can't find a compelling reason to refute it, because Zhongdingyuan's sincerity and strength are unmatched by other companies in the province.

Meanwhile, Lin Xiao also made it clear in the plan that the project would still be led by Executive Deputy County Head Qi Mingchen, with other leaders in charge providing assistance.

This is another powerful counterattack against Zhu Lishu's previous decision to have Deputy County Head Li Changshou lead the effort.

Juliet's face was grim, her brows furrowed: "What are everyone's opinions on this plan?"

When the top leader is controlled by the second-in-command, who will offer any opinions?

Therefore, after the vote, Julie Shue announced that the plan would be implemented.

The meeting moved to its final agenda item, with Deputy Secretary Gao Chengce introducing the county's performance evaluation scheme for cadres.

After he finished his presentation, Lin Xiao spoke first, saying that there were already relevant plans, and since it was already the end of the third quarter, there was no need to introduce a new plan.

Gao Chengce looked embarrassed and ashamed, never expecting that Lin Xiao would even slap him in the face.

Before he could object or anyone else could voice their opinion, Julie Shue made the decision: "Since the plan is not suitable, let's not discuss it for now. Meeting adjourned."

With the personnel issue already a major setback, cutting losses is her most urgent choice.

After saying that, she got up and left the conference room.

The crowd exchanged bewildered glances. This meeting was supposed to be her main battleground for establishing her authority, but it had ended up like this.

This is understandable, given that her first direct confrontation ended in a complete defeat.

With the conclusion of this Standing Committee meeting, a new chapter will begin for Fuchuan County.

The deterioration of the relationship between the county party secretary and the county head will inevitably lead to many changes.

Choosing sides is increasingly becoming a serious issue that everyone needs to consider.

Soon, news of the Standing Committee meeting spread.

That afternoon, the Organization Department initiated the pre-appointment public announcement process, and scheduled to officially release the pre-appointment announcement for cadres the following day.

Besides the heated discussion surrounding the list of appointments and removals, there is another consensus—acting county head Lin Xiao has consistently maintained a strong and assertive style.

Of course, many people also lamented: Zhu Lishu must have lost her mind. She knew that Lin Xiao was backed by Wang Yuanze, the municipal party secretary, yet she still chose to confront him head-on.

Isn't this just asking for trouble?

Moreover, Lin Xiao is almost selfless and wholeheartedly devoted to his work and entrepreneurship.

Believe that as long as you stand on the side of the people, you are invincible.

The following day, Lin Xiao convened a county mayor's office meeting to adjust the deployment of several key tasks. Among them, the person in charge of the Changning River Valley cultural tourism project was changed to Hu Jizu, the deputy county mayor in charge of cultural and sports work, while Tang Meiyun, a member of the Standing Committee of the County Party Committee and deputy county mayor, was only responsible for her assigned work.

Tang Meiyun's face turned ashen—Lin Xiao was diminishing her power.

As soon as the meeting ended, she went to Juliet to complain.

Although Zhu Lishu was severely reprimanded by Lin Xiao yesterday, she is still the top leader, and no one else can rival Lin Xiao except her.

However, the secretary's office door was tightly closed, and upon asking, it was learned that Zhu Lishu had gone to the city to report on her work.

After thinking about it, Tang Meiyun also decided to go to the city.

That evening, Lin Xiao specially invited Ji Qingjun, the political commissar of the People's Armed Forces Department, to dinner. Ji Qingjun's son, Ji Xiu, was also present at the table.

It turns out that when Song Minghao went to Beicheng to discuss the marriage last time, he revealed to Lin Xiao the Song family's connections in the military system—Cai Qingyuan, the deputy political commissar of the Quanzhou-Ningxia Military Region, was an old subordinate of his father, Song Guoqing.

Lin Xiao jokingly said that he was a civil official and probably wouldn't need the connections of a military general, but who knew they would come in so very handy.

Two days ago, after communicating with He Zhiqiang and others by phone, Lin Xiao called Song Minghao and asked him to put in a good word for Cai Qingyuan.

As a result, Cai Qingyuan learned from Song Minghao that Lin Xiao was about to become the Song family's grandson-in-law. He immediately called Lin Xiao and said that he would speak to Ji Qingjun and ask him to fully cooperate with Lin Xiao's work in Fuchuan County.

It was precisely because of this relationship that Ji Qingjun, who generally did not participate in county party committee affairs, was able to clearly express his support for Lin Xiao.

As for An Xu, the secretary of the county's political and legal affairs committee, his appointment to Fuchuan County was mainly due to the promotion of Su Anji, the secretary of the municipal political and legal affairs committee and director of the public security bureau.

When Lin Xiao first arrived in Fuchuan, he had a conversation with An Xu. Although An Xu was usually very low-key, he would not choose the wrong side at crucial moments.

Therefore, Juliet completely misjudged the situation this time.

Of course, there are some relationships that she is not aware of.