The game of power begins with the police officers at the local police station.

Chen Shi received a notice to attend a meeting at the Public Security Bureau. Since he, as the deputy director, was going to the meeting, the director would definitely have to go as well.

Chen Shi stood up, walked out of his office, went to Wang Jianming's office, and knocked lightly twice.

"Come in"

Chen Shi pushed open the office door, walked in, and said with a smile, "Director Wang."

Wang Jianming poured Chen Shi a cup of tea. "Sit down."

Chen Shi sat down: "Chief Wang, the Public Security Bureau notified us of a meeting tomorrow afternoon. Are you going?"

If even a deputy director like you is going, how can I not go?

"I also received a notification that we'll go up together tomorrow morning."

Chen Shi smiled and said, "Okay, I'll arrange for Zhang Hu to take us up tomorrow morning."

Wang Jianming became more vigilant. Was Chen Shi trying to cultivate Zhang Hu? Every time he went to the Public Security Bureau for a meeting, he wouldn't let anyone see him off. It wasn't that he was considerate of his subordinates; it was that he couldn't allow his subordinates to have contact with the leaders of the Public Security Bureau.

He often took the former director and deputy director to meetings, which gave him the opportunity to meet the leaders of the Public Security Bureau. Over time, he became familiar with them, showed himself in front of the leaders, and eventually became the deputy director and director.

He couldn't let his subordinates repeat the path he had walked; he'd rather endure the hardship himself.

Was Chen Shi unaware of the intricacies of the matter, or was he simply trying to shirk his responsibilities?

After all, you're young. In officialdom, every step you take is like walking on thin ice. You can only go up, not down. There's a lot to learn, kid. Take your time and learn. You never know when you might stumble and fall.

"Work is important, so don't let Zhang Hu drive us up. If you find driving tiring, I'll drive."

Seeing how considerate Wang Jianming was of his subordinates, Chen Shi noticed that whenever he went to a meeting alone, he would drive himself, unlike other police stations where people would drive him there.

Now that he's going up to the meeting, Chen Shi has become his driver.

"Chief Wang, every time you go to the Public Security Bureau for a meeting, you do it yourself and drive yourself. You've never had a police officer take you. I need to learn from you in that respect."

There's a lot you can learn from me. Remember, the higher you climb, the harder you fall.

"Everything revolves around work. I'm not even a section chief, yet I need someone to take me to a meeting."

Chen Shi knew this was a criticism of him: "You're just a section-level cadre, and you need someone to escort you to a meeting? Is your rank higher than mine?"

Chen Shi took a sip of tea, surprised that Wang Jianming reacted so strongly to the matter.

He wasn't qualified to have a private car pick him up for meetings. He coughed lightly and said, "Director Wang, I'll pick you up tomorrow morning. I have other things to do, so please go ahead and take care of them."

Watching Chen Shi's departing figure, I thought to myself, if I had been appreciated by the county magistrate when I was young, I would be at least the director of a certain bureau now, or at least a section-level cadre.

Chen Shi was incredibly lucky to gain the favor of County Chief Liu. Sometimes, you can't deny the power of fate; some people are just born to be leaders.

The next morning, Chen Shi drove to Wang Jianming's place to pick him up. As soon as he stopped the car, Wang Jianming came downstairs.

This time, I naturally got into the passenger seat.

Chen Shi saw Wang Jianming fasten his seatbelt and asked, "Didn't I say you were going to drive? Why aren't you driving?"

If he were to say, "Let me drive," Chen Shi wouldn't tolerate it and would immediately let him drive.

Who told you to show off and not let Zhang Hu give it to you?

But his face was full of smiles: "Commander Wang, have you had breakfast?"

"not yet"

"I don't have any either. I'll just go to the street and get a bowl of rice noodles."

I thought you would bring it for me, why didn't you this time?

Chen Shi thought to himself, "I brought you some last time, but you didn't eat it. This is your only chance."

Chen Shi started the car, drove onto the street, and stopped at a rice noodle shop. The two of them got out to have breakfast.

There were many people eating breakfast. In the town, everyone knew each other and greeted one another.

After finishing breakfast, Chen Shi waited a while and saw that Wang Jianming didn't mention driving. After all, Wang Jianming was half a rank higher than him, so he had to give him face. As long as they communicated on equal footing, there was nothing wrong with him being a driver.

Chen Shi got into the car, and Wang Jianming sat in the passenger seat as they headed towards the county town.

Wang Jianming closed his eyes to rest, while Chen Shi focused on driving; neither of them spoke.

As the car approached Shangying Town, Wang Jianming slowly opened his eyes and asked, "Where are we?"

Shangying Town

"The Public Security Bureau held an emergency meeting, but we don't know what happened?"

Wang Jianming called Lei Heng yesterday to inquire about the meeting's contents. It was about Zhang Dong, a resident of Chunyang County, who committed a crime in Yizhou, breaking into a house and robbing and killing a family of five. He has now fled Yizhou and is under surveillance throughout the province, especially in Chunyang County, Zhang Dong's hometown, which is a key area of ​​surveillance.

Wang Jianming was testing Chen Shi to see how much the leaders of the Public Security Bureau valued him.

Chen Shi didn't think too much about it; it was just a meeting, so he didn't call Zhang Xiangdong to ask.

This is a sign of inexperience.

Chen Shi suddenly realized something was wrong. Could there be something important at the afternoon meeting?

"Director Wang, is this meeting urgent?"

It seems Chen Shi was unaware of the meeting's content. An emergency meeting isn't just one that's about to be held; it's one that's directly related to oneself.

Zhang Dong is not only from Chunyang County, but also from Fushan Town. During meetings, the leaders of the Public Security Bureau will definitely ask him by name to see how to catch Chen Shi off guard.

You're just a kid who hasn't even grown his first hair yet, and you're always challenging yourself. I'll teach you a lesson and show you how arrogant you are.

Let the leaders in the bureau see for themselves; the older comrades are still the most reliable.

"Isn't it urgent?" Wang Jianming asked back, explaining, "Normally, we're notified three days in advance of meetings, but this time we were only notified yesterday near the end of the workday, and the meeting is this afternoon, so it's considered urgent."

Chen Shi sensed that Wang Jianming was being sarcastic and his words had a hidden meaning.

The meeting usually starts at 2 or 3 pm, but this time it started at 1 pm. Something big must have happened.

Wang Jianming found his place in the world, and in these two encounters, he was completely defeated by Chen Shi.

Chen Shi glanced at Wang Jianming, wanting to ask him if he knew the meeting was easy, but knowing it was useless to ask, this old fox wouldn't tell him.

Once we arrived in the county town, I called Zhang Xiangdong to ask him.

Chen Shi drove very fast, but traffic jams delayed him by half an hour. He arrived in the county town at eleven o'clock.

Chen Shi took Wang Jianming to a sauna, but he didn't go. He took out his phone, intending to call Zhang Xiangdong, but after dialing, he quickly hung up.

Zhang Xiangdong was not familiar with him, so it was very presumptuous of him to call and ask about the meeting content.

I thought of Xu Ping'an; he's the deputy head of the political work section, he must know.

Chen Shi called Xu Ping'an, and the call was answered quickly.

"Director Chen, come up for the meeting."

"Just call me old classmate since I've just arrived in the county town. Don't call me Director Chen; it's too formal."

"Then don't call me Xu Ke, just call me Ping An."

Chen Shi could tell that this time the person was sincere and wanted to have an equal dialogue. First, the two sides had to be equal in status. It was impossible to have an equal dialogue if the two sides were not equal in status. The one in a lower position would have to look up to the other.

"Okay, Ping An, I want to ask you something. This time, the meeting felt different. Has something big happened?"

"Don't you know? This meeting is related to your Fushan Town Police Station."

Zhang Dong, a resident of Chunyang County, committed burglary and murder in Yizhou, killing a family of five before fleeing the city. Zhang Dong is actually from Longtougou Village, Fushan Town. Chunyang County is in for a lot of work now, and your Fushan Town Police Station will be even busier, as it's a key area under surveillance.

Chen Shi thanked him repeatedly. Wang Jianming, that old fox, was trying to trick him. The leaders would definitely ask him about it at the meeting. He was not prepared at all and would be caught off guard.