Right path to power

Wang Kangzhou's face flushed red, and he gripped the pen tightly, the veins on the back of his hand clearly visible.

As the deputy secretary of the district party committee and the third-highest-ranking official in the district, he usually cares a lot about his image, especially in front of his subordinates, where he must maintain his authority.

But today, Lin Xiao not only criticized him in public, but also directly handed over the work that was originally his responsibility to Xie Guangyan.

This is more than just a public slap in the face; it's a public humiliation.

However, he had no chance to refute it.

Aside from the difference in their job titles, it was also because Lin Xiao's arguments were reasonable and well-founded.

Therefore, he could only suffer in silence.

He certainly hadn't forgotten what the top leader had instructed him to do, but he hadn't paid much attention to it afterward. Who knew that it would suddenly come up again today and embarrass him in public.

Qu Ningbo glanced at Wang Kangzhou, a hint of smugness flashing in his eyes.

He had previously worked with Wang Kangzhou and felt that the man was too cunning, the kind of person who wouldn't act until he saw the benefits.

Fortunately, a rare "ruthless character" like Lin Xiao came along, so he no longer wanted to switch sides and could just focus on doing things with Secretary Lin.

As a newcomer to the grassroots level, Guo Yuanzheng observed the entire process and made notes in his notebook.

Although as the secretary to the municipal party secretary, he often attended the Standing Committee meetings to take notes, he also frequently witnessed the municipal leaders arguing and bargaining over certain issues.

Even though Wang Yuanze was also very assertive, he never criticized the deputy secretary in public like Lin Xiao did.

In his view, the two are essentially the same, the main difference being in their expression.

The competition at the grassroots level is usually on the public stage, but the higher you go, the more the competition happens offstage.

Sometimes things may appear calm on the surface, but beneath the surface, turbulent undercurrents may be brewing.

Of course, before coming to Zhenxing District, Guo Yuanzheng had already decided to follow in Lin Xiao's footsteps.

However, witnessing the courage and decisiveness of this secretary, who was even younger than him, in public today immediately filled him with admiration.

Organization Minister Jiang Yanming was slapping his thigh repeatedly under the table with his right hand, while his gaze kept shifting between Lin Xiao and Wang Kangzhou.

Previously, he felt that cooperating with Yang Songfeng was a good choice. But judging from Lin Xiao's assertiveness today, if he didn't follow orders, he feared his future would be bleak.

One step wrong, step by step wrong.

He's now in a difficult position and feeling quite depressed.

At this moment, Yang Songfeng calmly held his teacup and drank tea.

After the emotions in the meeting room had calmed down a bit, Lin Xiao spoke again, pointing out the deeper-seated problems in the district's development, based on the issues of cadre conduct and assessment mechanisms.

He bluntly stated that in recent years, Zhenxing District has not only had a poor work ethic among its cadres, but its overall development has also long lacked top-level design and unified planning; the construction of the old and new urban areas is fragmented and disconnected, the development layout is scattered and chaotic, and there is no synergy; the connection between urban and rural development is not smooth, the gap is widening, and many remote towns have weak economic foundations and lagging development, which are increasingly dragging down the entire district.

Not only is urban planning rife with problems, but urban governance is also riddled with issues. The urban management bureau routinely only drives away street vendors and uses crude and simplistic enforcement methods, while turning a blind eye to and neglecting existing illegal constructions within its jurisdiction. When the fire department conducts special inspections, it puts the cart before the horse, emphasizing fines over rectification, and turning a blind eye to and ignoring real safety hazards.

"The root of all the problems, in the final analysis, is that there are serious problems with the cadre team."

Lin Xiao spoke with certainty and hit the nail on the head.

"Some officials have not focused on their work and lack the belief in serving the people. Instead, they use their public power as a tool for rent-seeking and personal gain. Daily supervision is superficial, and discipline is lax and weak, which has led to a proliferation of inaction and malfeasance."

He immediately set clear work requirements: the next step for the entire district is to align with the city's overall development plan, take into account the district's own actual situation, hire a professional team, identify all kinds of advantages and disadvantages, and quickly develop a three-year overall development plan for the entire district to completely reverse the passive situation of blind construction and disorderly development.

The people present listened with solemn expressions and heavy hearts.

Everyone could tell that Lin Xiao not only wanted to reorganize the cadre team and change the rules for personnel appointment, but also wanted to overthrow and rebuild the old development model of Zhenxing District and reconstruct the development framework of the entire district.

This kind of self-reform, from the inside out, is tantamount to negating the development ideas and achievements of the previous team, which makes many people feel extremely uncomfortable.

After all, the current situation in Zhenxing District bears the marks of their past efforts.

As Lin Xiao finished speaking, the Standing Committee meeting ended in a tense silence.

Not long after, Qu Ningbo came to report that the procuratorate had filed a protest with the court regarding Zhou Huayu's case.

Meanwhile, the district public security bureau continued its investigation following the lead of Zhou Huayu hiring someone to commit assault, uncovering another long-standing cold case.

Earlier, nearby residents had reported Huanyu Plastics for illegally discharging wastewater and waste gas. Just before they were about to submit the collected wastewater samples and video footage of the hidden sewage discharge, Zhou Huayu secretly arranged for people to come to their homes, not only seizing the samples and deleting the video footage, but also issuing verbal warnings and threats. After the residents reported the incident to the police, the local police station only treated it as a property damage dispute and did not investigate further.

Furthermore, to intimidate nearby residents seeking redress, Zhou Huayu hired unemployed individuals to repeatedly assault those gathering evidence and protesting. He also arranged for people to loiter around the residential area and cause disturbances late at night. The residents suffered greatly but dared not speak out, and despite multiple police reports, the problem remained unresolved.

However, on the day of the verdict, the court only ordered Zhou Huayu to pay civil damages and released him immediately, without simultaneously issuing a ruling to place him under residential surveillance. By the time the necessary procedures were completed, he had already disappeared.

Police investigation later revealed that Zhou Huayu left Quanzhou City as soon as he left the courthouse, clearly having already made preparations to escape.

Now, the police have no choice but to issue an arrest warrant for him.

In terms of public opinion, thanks to the timely release of case information by the Public Security Bureau, the simultaneous cooperation of the Environmental Protection Bureau, the invitation of affected residents to participate in supervision, and the regular public disclosure of the progress of pollution control in the industrial park, the vast majority of the people support the district committee's measures to address the pollution.

Lin Xiao immediately gave instructions: the task force must not slacken its efforts, must do everything in its power to apprehend Zhou Huayu, secure a complete chain of evidence, and ensure that the case is airtight.

Lin Xiao increasingly felt that an external force was interfering, attempting to protect Zhou Huayu. The more this was the case, the more crucial it was to avoid any loopholes in the investigation.

This is a landmark case since he took charge of Zhenxing District. If it cannot be resolved completely, it will not only shake the prestige of the district committee and him personally, but also embolden those who interfere behind the scenes.

At this moment, Fan Shixin, the secretary of the district discipline inspection commission, came to report on his work, and Qu Ningbo got up to take his leave.

"Secretary, I have two things to report to you. First, after inspecting the court, we are preparing to take measures against two individuals with suspicious leads. One is Wen Yinghao, the director of the district court's general office, who is a mid-level cadre; the other is Jiang Da-kui, a member of the Party Committee and director of the enforcement bureau, who is a court leader. Some leads on both individuals have already been verified."

Lin Xiao nodded and said, "Since there's a problem, let's follow the procedure."

These two individuals hold different ranks, but both have close ties with Ko Yung-chieh, the president of the district court.

Therefore, the district discipline inspection commission's handling of these two individuals is clearly targeted.

"The second matter concerns Luo Weida, the head of Luodian Township. The Discipline Inspection Commission received a tip alleging that Luo Weida misappropriated agricultural subsidies. Preliminary investigation has confirmed the allegations. Whether Luo Weida has other issues requires further investigation and evidence gathering."

Luo Weida is a close confidant of Deputy Secretary Wang Kangzhou. Although some reports and clues about Luo Weida had been received before, no in-depth investigation had been conducted for various reasons.

Now that Lin Xiao, the newly appointed top official, has declared his full support for the district discipline inspection commission's work, especially given that at the standing committee meeting, the top official unusually criticized the third-in-command in public, sending an unusual signal. Fan Shixin immediately arranged for personnel to reopen the investigation into the previously backlogged leads.

"The discipline inspection commission must continue to investigate leads thoroughly. No matter who is involved, no matter what their background or connections are, as long as they dare to cross the red line, they must be dealt with strictly and resolutely investigated."

Lin Xiao spoke with certainty and conviction.

"Yes, Secretary. I will take care of it as soon as I get back."

Upon returning to the Discipline Inspection Commission, Fan Shixin immediately organized a team, dividing them into three groups: two groups went to the court, and one group headed to Luodian Township.

Ke Yongjie, the president of the district court, is holding a meeting on Party conduct and integrity in the conference room.

At this moment, a staff member rushed in, walked straight to Ke Yongjie, and whispered a few words in his ear.

Ke Yongjie's face immediately darkened, and he frowned, saying, "Isn't this just making things up? Don't you know we're in a meeting? Why did you have to come at this time? What exactly do you want?"

He kept grumbling, but a vague sense of foreboding rose in his heart.