Right path to power

Upon receiving Qin Ruifeng's call, Zhang Changming felt much more at ease.

Qin Ruifeng said that he had already informed Lin Xiao and would take him on a business trip to Beicheng. When they passed through Fengdu, Zhang Changming would host a banquet.

In Zhang Changming's view, Lin Xiao's actions undoubtedly gave his cousin a lot of face.

He was convinced that Lin Xiao must have some reservations about her cousin's identity.

After all, Lin Xiao's career is on a rapid upward trajectory, and advancing to the deputy director-general level is inevitable. The Third Cadre Division of the Provincial Party Committee's Organization Department is the core department responsible for the evaluation and promotion of prefectural and departmental-level cadres.

Moreover, Qin Ruifeng is already the deputy director of the Third Cadre Division, wielding real power and with a promising future. He is highly likely to be promoted to the position in the future.

Therefore, Lin Xiao's willingness to do favors and offer a way out at this moment is essentially paving the way for his long-term career.

Those within the system must always plan three steps ahead, paving the way and making arrangements in advance; they must never resort to last-minute scrambling. Otherwise, at crucial moments, they'll be left with no recourse.

It's true what they say, having connections in the court makes it easier to get ahead in officialdom!

Zhang Changming was in a great mood and secretly planned to prepare a generous "local specialty" for his cousin in a couple of days. Whether he could go further in the future depended entirely on his cousin's help and support.

The more he thought about it, the more excited he became. While waiting for Lin Xiao's summons, he began to prepare for his trip to Beicheng.

The next morning, Zhang Changming brewed some tea, put his legs up on his desk, and prepared to read the newspaper.

Just then, there was a knock on the office door.

Before he could even say "Come in," the door had already been pushed open.

He frowned and glared angrily, then looked up and saw two strange men standing at the door.

"Who are you? What do you need?"

The two strangers did not answer and walked straight in, followed by another man.

The middle-aged man at the head of the group said in a deep voice, "Comrade Zhang Changming, we are staff members of the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection. Please come with us to cooperate with the investigation."

"ah--"

Zhang Changming was shocked and nearly fell over. He hurriedly put his legs down.

His voice trembled violently as he said, "You...you must have made a mistake! I'm fine, I..."

"Please cooperate, or we will take action."

"No...no, I'm fine! I need to see Secretary Lin! My cousin works in the Provincial Party Committee's Organization Department..."

Zhang Changming was instantly incoherent, panicked, and trembling all over. He collapsed into his seat.

He was uneducated and unambitious, and relied on scheming, currying favor, and using gifts to build connections. Through his cousin Qin Ruifeng's recommendation, he gradually rose to the position of deputy district head.

Having encountered no major setbacks along the way, and with a guilty conscience, the municipal discipline inspection commission's visit directly shattered his psychological defenses.

Upon arriving at the interrogation room of the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection, after a brief interrogation, Zhang Changming completely broke down and quickly confessed to all his illegal and disciplinary violations.

When the news of Zhang Changming's investigation spread, almost no one in Zhenxing District was surprised, as if such an outcome was already expected.

Among the many people who had contact with him, the vast majority believed that he was of low quality and had a frivolous lifestyle, and that it was only a matter of time before he got into trouble.

In addition, Lin Xiao is impartial and ruthless in his actions, and he rarely shows mercy to those who cross the line.

Therefore, even the strongest relationships cannot be preserved.

That evening, Qin Ruifeng also learned that Zhang Changming had been placed under investigation, and he was both shocked and furious. After making inquiries from various sources, he learned that the clues had been secured by the district discipline inspection commission and then transferred to the municipal discipline inspection commission, which led to the initiation of an investigation.

Enraged, Qin Ruifeng dialed Lin Xiao's number directly, his tone filled with dissatisfaction: "Secretary Lin, what you did in this matter was really inconsiderate!"

"What's wrong, Director Qin?" Lin Xiao asked calmly.

Qin Ruifeng couldn't contain his anger: "What are you pretending for? Don't you know about Chang Ming's matter? How big of a deal is this? If you had just stepped in a little, wouldn't it have been over? But you went and called the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection directly. With the way you're doing this, who would want to do business with you or be your friend?"

Lin Xiao smiled and said, "Director Qin, this matter can't be blamed on me. If he had no problems, would the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection have placed him under investigation? If anyone is to blame, it's him. If he is honest and self-disciplined, who can touch him? The District Commission for Discipline Inspection has solid evidence and reported it according to law and regulations. I have no power, and I absolutely cannot protect or condone cadres who violate discipline."

Qin Ruifeng was speechless, his chest heaving with anger: "Fine! Very well! I'll remember this. We'll see how things go."

After saying that, he slammed down the phone.

His loss of composure, filled with resentment and unable to reflect on his actions, led him to take his anger out on Lin Xiao.

Besides believing that Lin Xiao deliberately turned against him and showed him no mercy, he was also extremely fearful—afraid that Zhang Changming would become desperate and reveal all the things he had done to help Zhang Changming in his career.

Once the clues are reported to the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and the Provincial Party Committee Organization Department, his long-term career will be completely ruined.

Therefore, it's not that he doesn't understand official etiquette, but rather that he often loses his rationality when a crisis involves him.

After calming down a bit, Qin Ruifeng gritted his teeth and said, "Mountains and rivers may meet again, but we'll inevitably collide one day. Who will emerge victorious then is still uncertain."

However, Lin Xiao paid no attention to Qin Ruifeng's threats.

As the saying goes: A person with a straight body has nothing to fear from a crooked shadow; those who violate the rules will bring about their own destruction, and have no one else to blame.

Besides, Qin Ruifeng's previous overstepping of his authority and arbitrary interference in grassroots work, relying on his provincial position, had already made Lin Xiao feel disgusted.

Therefore, if there were any clues in this regard, Lin Xiao would be willing to stir things up. It wasn't because he had any vengeful intentions, but because he had long believed that anyone who would associate with someone like Zhang Changming was probably no good either.

Afterwards, Lin Xiao called Guo Yuanzheng to his office to discuss the preparations for the Beicheng Special Investment Promotion Conference.

When Zhuang Jingshu came to conduct research and interviews last time, she specifically suggested to Lin Xiao that Zhenxing District could hold a special investment promotion conference for the northern part of the city to accurately connect with high-quality enterprise resources in the capital.

After returning to Beicheng, Zhuang Jingshu continued to follow up on the Zhou Huayu case while also actively helping Lin Xiao connect with businesses.

After learning about this, Wang Feipeng became exceptionally enthusiastic and expressed his willingness to take the lead in organizing enterprises within the supply and marketing cooperative system to participate in the meeting.

At the same time, Zhang Liye also stated that he would coordinate with vegetable logistics associations and agricultural trade enterprises to participate in investment promotion.

Lin Xiao arranged for Guo Yuanzheng to take the lead in sorting out the investment promotion plan and compiling investment promotion materials, preparing to set off for Beicheng early three days later.

In addition to Guo Yuanzheng, he also plans to bring along the heads of core departments such as the Development and Reform Commission, Commerce Bureau, and Agriculture Bureau. The total number of people in the team will be kept to within ten, streamlining the team, being pragmatic and efficient, and avoiding formalism.

the next night.

CCTV's Legal Channel broadcast the typical case of Zhou Huayu on its program "Legal Perspectives." The program team invited well-known lawyers and the director of the Ministry of Justice to review the entire case, provide in-depth commentary on the twists and turns of the case, publicly affirm the fairness and legality of the final retrial judgment in the whole city, and summarize the core enlightenment of "human sentiments should not exceed legal principles, and judicial fairness is for the people."

This authoritative official media's characterization has brought the Zhou Huayu case to a perfect close.

After watching the program, Executive Vice Mayor Cai Zili silently turned off the TV, his eyes filled with resentment and anger: "I'll let you have a few good days first. Once your backer is transferred, I'll deal with you slowly."

After watching the program, Mayor Ma Guanghua smiled faintly, then muttered to himself with a hint of regret, "The timing was still a bit off. If it had been a few months later, the situation would have been more favorable for me."

News came from the provincial capital that a vice governor was about to retire to a lower position, and Wang Yuanze, the municipal party secretary, was a leading candidate to succeed him.

Wang Yuanze has served as the Party Secretary of Quanzhou City for more than three years, and previously served as the Mayor of Linguang City for many years. Having served as a director-general for two terms, he has a solid resume and sufficient qualifications.

During his tenure as the top official in the prefecture, he achieved remarkable results in several areas, including rural cultural tourism, one-stop government services, and the fight against organized crime, which were recognized as exemplary achievements at the provincial and national levels.

In addition, Wang Yuanze has the support of Liang Weiwang, the executive vice governor of the province, and Liang Weiwang has a close relationship with Xu Zecheng, the top leader of the provincial party committee.

More importantly, Wang Yuanze could indirectly access the Song family's resources through his relationship with Lin Xiao. With just a little help from the Song family, his promotion would be almost a certainty.

Wang Yuanze's promotion is a good thing for Ma Guanghua.

After all, Wang Yuanze had been operating in Quanzhou for many years, with a solid foundation and strong control over the overall situation of the city, which made Mayor Ma Guanghua restricted and unable to exert his power everywhere.

Once Wang Yuanze is transferred and a new team takes over, the situation will be reshuffled, and he will be able to seize the opportunity to gain more initiative.

The only regret is that Ma Guanghua has been the mayor for less than a year and is still relatively inexperienced, so there is basically no possibility that he will be able to directly take over as the municipal party secretary.

If Wang Yuanze had left a few months later, allowing him to accumulate more experience, his chances of winning the top position would have been much greater, and it would have greatly boosted his future career.

Within the system, the municipal party secretary is the true high-ranking official, while the mayor is always half a rank lower. To advance further, one must secure this position as municipal party secretary as early as possible; otherwise, the age disadvantage will become increasingly significant.

Just then, Secretary Wei Anshun knocked on the door and came in to report: "Mayor, Secretary Lin Xiao of Zhenxing District has arrived."