151: Chapter 151 Qiu Dehai Breaks Through Defenses

Village Secretary Zhang Dahai quickly reported the conflict that occurred at the entrance of Heishui Village last night, as well as the fact that Zhang Xing and others had been arrested overnight by the Town Police Station and even classified as a criminal gang involved in organized crime.

After listening, Secretary Qiu Dehai cursed over the phone: "I told you repeatedly just a couple of days ago to keep a low profile! Did you treat my words as wind passing by your ears? You are practically sticking your necks out onto their blades!"

Village Secretary Zhang Dahai knew he was in the wrong: "Secretary Qiu, it's too late to talk about that now. You need to quickly think of a way to put pressure on the Town Police Station and get those involved villagers released first. If they really keep interrogating them, pulling up the radish will bring out the mud, and all the village's secrets will be exposed!"

Secretary Qiu Dehai cursed: "Idiot!"

"Is your brain filled with mush?" Secretary Qiu Dehai suppressed his anger. "That newly transferred Police Chief Zhao Gang arrived on the same day as Zhu Wenhao. Last night, they fired shots and made arrests, causing such a huge commotion, and yet Police Chief Zhao Gang didn't even make a phone call to report it to me, the Town Party Committee Secretary! Think about it with your heels—which mountain does Police Chief Zhao Gang pledge allegiance to?"

Village Secretary Zhang Dahai was silenced on the other end of the line: "Just how big is Zhu Wenhao's background? Can't even you suppress him?"

Secretary Qiu Dehai did not answer this question. His mind raced. The Zhang Clan had grown accustomed to being tyrants in the village, acting without regard for the consequences. Now that Zhang Xing had been classified as involved in organized crime, this fire could spread to him at any moment.

He had to distance himself from these troublemakers as soon as possible.

"Alright, I know about this matter now." Secretary Qiu Dehai adopted a perfunctory bureaucratic tone. "The Police Station has its independence in handling cases; it's against the rules for me to intervene directly. You keep the people in the village steady for now and stop causing trouble. I will find an opportunity to inquire about the nature of the case."

Without waiting for Village Secretary Zhang Dahai to say anything more, Secretary Qiu Dehai hung up the phone.

Inquire? He wanted to avoid it at all costs.

But as the top leader, if he let Zhu Wenhao make a big show of arresting people in Heishi Town to establish his authority, his own authority would inevitably be wiped out.

This matter required a stern warning.

He picked up the desk phone and dialed the office of the Deputy Secretary.

"Comrade Zhu Wenhao, come to my office for a moment."

"Okay." The voice on the other end replied with just one word, crisp and decisive.

A few minutes later, there was a knock on the office door, and Zhu Wenhao pushed the door open and walked in.

"Secretary Qiu, do you have any instructions for me?" Zhu Wenhao sat in the guest chair opposite the desk, neither humble nor arrogant.

Secretary Qiu Dehai put on the airs of the top leader.

"Zhu Wenhao. Your initiative in handling the emergencies over the past two days is commendable." Secretary Qiu Dehai praised him first before criticizing. "However, according to the requirements of the Town Party Committee responsibility system and democratic centralism, a large-scale conflict between the police and the public occurred in Heishui Village, and firearms were even used. As the Deputy Secretary in charge of political and legal affairs, shouldn't you have reported this to me, the top leader, immediately?"

This was using organizational procedures to suppress someone.

Zhu Wenhao looked directly at Secretary Qiu Dehai.

"The incident happened suddenly, and the lives of the frontline officers were threatened. This falls under the category of a sudden vicious incident that endangers social stability." Zhu Wenhao brought out his countermeasure. "When things are urgent, one must act with discretion; making a prompt decision is paramount. Furthermore, I didn't know what important official business Secretary Qiu was handling in the county. If I had called in the middle of the night and disturbed your rest, it would have been inappropriate."

The perfectly measured counterattack left Secretary Qiu Dehai feeling stifled.

He was about to raise his voice to once again use the rules to lecture this young man who didn't understand the rules.

Suddenly, the desk phone rang.

Secretary Qiu Dehai temporarily suppressed his anger and glanced at the caller ID; it was a call from the Municipal Organization Department of Linjiang City.

He immediately picked up the phone: "Hello, this is Secretary Qiu Dehai of Heishi Town."

A capable male voice came from the other end of the line: "Hello, Secretary Qiu. This is Division Chief Sun Bo from Cadre Division 1 of the Municipal Organization Department of Linjiang."

Secretary Qiu Dehai couldn't help but sit up a little straighter: "Hello, Division Chief Sun. Do you have any work instructions?"

"I am notifying Heishi Town." Division Chief Sun Bo's voice came through the receiver. "Following a decision by the Municipal Organization Department, Comrade Director Zhou Mei of the Party and Government Office of Heishi Town is officially transferred to the Civil Servant Section of the Qingjiang County Organization Department as Deputy Section Chief. The transfer order is issued today. Please cooperate with the town to complete the personnel handover."

Upon hearing this, Secretary Qiu Dehai's hand holding the receiver froze in mid-air.

Director Zhou Mei was the "chief steward" of Heishi Town; she was Secretary Qiu Dehai's eyes and ears.

The city had actually bypassed the county committee, reached its hand into the town, and forcibly poached his person.

"Division Chief Sun, this..." Secretary Qiu Dehai was anxious and blurted out, "To transfer a core backbone like the Director of the Party and Government Office from our town, shouldn't the organization have sought the opinion of me, the Town Party Committee Secretary, beforehand?"

The air on the other end of the line seemed to suddenly drop in temperature.

"Secretary Qiu." Division Chief Sun Bo's voice carried the absolute authority of a superior organ. "The Municipal Organization Department has the power of overall decision-making for the allocation of cadre at the section level and below across the city. This does not seem to require specifically consulting a town-level top leader for their opinion."

"This personnel transfer has already been discussed at the departmental affairs meeting, and Minister Zhou has already signed the transfer order."

Division Chief Sun Bo paused and threw out the most fatal question: "What? Secretary Qiu, are you questioning the resolution of the Municipal Organization Department?"

A heavy accusation of resisting the superior organization was slapped down, enough to crush any grassroots resistance.

Cold sweat instantly covered Secretary Qiu Dehai's forehead.

Questioning the Municipal Organization Department? He wouldn't dare, even if he had ten times the courage.

"If Secretary Qiu has any objections to this resolution, you are welcome to go to the Municipal Committee compound in person and reflect it to Minister Zhao in person. This is a routine notification; I am hanging up."

"Beep—beep—beep—"

Only the busy signal remained in the receiver.

Secretary Qiu Dehai's hand holding the receiver froze in mid-air, his complexion turning from red to white, and then from white to green.

He slowly placed the receiver back on the desk phone and slowly shifted his gaze to Zhu Wenhao, who was sitting opposite him.

Pulling the firewood from under the cauldron.

This young man, on the surface, was just flipping through old meeting minutes in the town, but secretly, he had mobilized heaven-reaching resources at the municipal level, directly severing one of his arms within the Town Government.

This kind of cross-level dimensional strike simply did not follow the rules of the grassroots level.

"Transferring Director Zhou Mei was your doing behind the scenes." Secretary Qiu Dehai gritted his teeth and stared at Zhu Wenhao. This sentence was not a question, but a firm statement.

Zhu Wenhao sat there, neither denying nor admitting it.

He straightened his jacket sleeves and stood up calmly.

"Han Feizi" says: Power cannot be borrowed from others, and authority cannot be lent to others.

"Secretary Qiu, the organization's personnel allocation has its own organizational considerations; it is not something any one person can push behind the scenes." Zhu Wenhao's tone was calm. "If there are no other specific instructions regarding government affairs, I will return to my office to handle the work at hand."

Watching Zhu Wenhao's calm and indifferent appearance, Secretary Qiu Dehai felt a surge of evil fire coursing through his chest. He slammed the table hard.

"Good, very good!" Secretary Qiu Dehai spat out the words through gritted teeth. "At three o'clock this afternoon, we will hold a Town Party Committee meeting. I hope Comrade Zhu Wenhao will attend on time."

Since he couldn't gain any advantage in the secret confrontation, he would bring the battlefield out into the open.

At the Town Party Committee meeting, he, Secretary Qiu Dehai, was still the top leader who controlled the majority of the votes.

"Okay."

Zhu Wenhao nodded slightly, leaving behind a one-word reply.

He turned around and walked out of the Secretary's office with steady steps. The door closed gently behind him, sealing off the cold, murderous intent inside the office that was almost solid enough to touch.