21: Chapter 21 Su Changming and Zhu Tianhe Take Office

In the office building of the Jiangnan Provincial Party Committee, Standing Committee Conference Room No. 1.

Seated around the long table, all thirteen members of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee were present.

Beside each person sat a white porcelain teacup. Directly in front of them, an agenda printed with a red header and gold-embossed letters lay quietly.

The meeting proceeded with surprising smoothness.

Under the presidency of Secretary Lao Liguo, the agenda items regarding the province's economic layout and industrial planning were reviewed one by one.

In routine meetings at this level, scenes of table-slamming and chair-throwing would never occur.

All the real work was done outside the meeting. A consensus had already been reached during the Five-Person Group's brief meeting; bringing it to the Standing Committee was usually just a matter of going through the legal procedure of a show of hands.

Halfway through the meeting, they moved on to personnel matters.

Minister Xiao Dingyu, head of the Provincial Organization Department, cleared his throat and read out the proposed adjustment plan for the leadership team of Linjiang City: "After evaluation by the Provincial Organization Department and in light of the actual work needs of Linjiang City, Comrade Mayor Su Changming is proposed as the candidate for Mayor of Linjiang City. Comrade Secretary Zhu Tianhe is proposed to be appointed as Deputy Secretary of the Linjiang Municipal Party Committee..."

Once he finished reading, the voting process began.

There were no objections. Thirteen hands were raised in turn, and the motion passed unanimously.

This was originally the product of mutual compromise and a balance of interests among the high-level leadership of the Provincial Party Committee.

The Su and Zhu families were evenly matched in Linjiang City.

Notably, with Secretary Zhu Tianhe's promotion, the position of Executive Deputy Mayor of Linjiang City, which he had previously held, was left completely vacant.

This created a massive power vacuum.

The executive deputy mayor manages the routine work of the government and holds real power over core departments such as finance and the Development and Reform Commission.

The fingers of several standing committee members present paused slightly as they flipped through the roster.

They picked up their teacups, using the cover of drinking water to calculate in their hearts how to squeeze the capable generals of their own factions into this vital position in Linjiang.

Such a choice piece of meat would inevitably trigger a new round of fierce competition.

Once the entire agenda was completed, everyone closed their folders.

"Comrades, there is one more thing,"

Secretary Lao Liguo lightly tapped his teacup against the table, making a soft clinking sound. The conference room instantly fell silent.

"Next week, the Provincial Inspection Team will officially station themselves in Linjiang City."

Secretary Lao Liguo's gaze swept across the room. "A while ago, Former Mayor Xiao Tianyou of Linjiang fell from grace. The case has been closed, and he has been handed over to the judiciary. But have the deeply entrenched networks of interest at the grassroots level been completely purged of their residual poison? I think not."

He paused for a moment and set the tone: "The core task of this inspection is to adopt a 'retrospective look' strategy regarding Former Mayor Xiao Tianyou's issues."

Within the system, this was an extremely severe political warning. It meant that files that had already been closed and archived would be dug up and sifted through again. It was also a warning to those who had just received a share of the cake: do not think that you can rest easy just because the personnel appointments have been settled; the sword of the Provincial Party Committee is hanging over your heads at all times.

Secretary Lao Liguo turned to Secretary Chen, the Secretary of the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection, who was sitting on his left.

"Comrade Chen, your Discipline Inspection Commission needs to pay close attention to this inspection." Secretary Lao Liguo's tone was stern. "The Capital has always maintained a high-pressure stance on discipline issues. The anti-corruption struggle has no end. We must not only catch tigers like Former Mayor Xiao Tianyou but also swat the flies hiding at the grassroots level in Linjiang. Whoever dares to commit offenses against the wind at this critical juncture will be investigated and prosecuted upon discovery, with absolutely no leniency."

Secretary Chen wrote rapidly before responding, "Please rest assured, Provincial Party Committee. The Inspection Team has already mobilized its elite forces. This time, we will go straight down to the grassroots business operations, checking accounts and approvals. We will not withdraw our forces until everything is brought to light."

Secretary Lao Liguo nodded slightly and turned his gaze to Minister Xiao Dingyu. "Comrade Dingyu, hurry up and arrange the public announcement for the personnel appointments in Linjiang. Once the process is completed, let Comrades Mayor Su Changming and Secretary Zhu Tianhe take office as soon as possible. The city's overall economic situation must not fall into disarray for even a single day."

Minister Xiao Dingyu nodded in acknowledgment.

"Meeting adjourned."

With the official red-headed document of the Provincial Organization Department formally issued, the official website of Jiangnan Province published the pre-appointment public announcement. The power structure of Linjiang City ushered in a brand-new era.

Mayor Su Changming and Secretary Zhu Tianhe were busy wrapping up their current work, waiting for the Provincial Organization Department to announce their appointments before handing over their duties.

On the surface, the two shook hands and smiled at the recent Standing Committee meeting of the Municipal Party Committee, demonstrating extremely high political consciousness and leadership unity. In private, the struggle over old and new engineering projects and the reshuffling of personnel across various sectors had already reached a fever pitch. Secretary Tian of the Municipal Party Committee reacted with indifference; discord between the second and third-in-command was actually a good thing for the Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee.

Seven days later.

Outside the Linjiang City highway toll station, a fine drizzle was falling.

Two Toyota Coaster minibuses, led by a black Audi sedan with provincial capital license plates leading the way, smoothly drove out of the toll lane with their hazard lights flashing.

The Coaster's chassis was extremely stable, and it had always been the standard vehicle for high-ranking officials conducting research at the grassroots level. It was low-key, steady, and naturally exuded authority.

Inside the first Coaster, the cabin was spacious.

Qi Tian, Deputy Minister of the Provincial Organization Department, sat in the single seat near the front on the left. His task on this trip was to represent the Provincial Organization Department, formally read out the appointment documents for Mayor Su Changming and Secretary Zhu Tianhe at the Linjiang City leading cadres' conference, and deliver their official positions.

Across the aisle, in the right-side seat, sat a middle-aged man wearing an old-fashioned dark blue jacket. He was Team Leader Qiu Rui, the Director of the First Discipline Inspection and Supervision Office of the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and the concurrent Deputy Leader of this Provincial Inspection Team.

Two men in one vehicle: one managed the official hats, while the other stripped them away.

"Old Qiu, your Discipline Inspection Commission is making quite a scene this time," Qi Tian said casually as he flipped through the roster of Linjiang City cadres. "I am going to deliver the new officials to their posts, while you are bringing people along to check the old accounts. If those folks from the Linjiang Municipal Party Committee see the two of us sitting in the same vehicle, they'll probably have to sleep with their eyes open tonight."

Team Leader Qiu Rui gently twisted open his thermos lid. As the steam dispersed, he blew away the froth floating around the goji berries.

"Minister Qi, you exaggerate. We are just going to give the comrades in Linjiang a physical checkup," Team Leader Qiu Rui said, taking a sip of tea. "If there's no illness, that's best. If there is, early treatment is key. One must not hide sickness for fear of treatment."

Conversations in officialdom were thirty percent literal and seventy percent hidden barbs.

Qi Tian closed the cadre roster, took off his reading glasses, and wiped them with a velvet cloth. "The waters in Linjiang are extremely deep. Former Mayor Xiao Tianyou is in prison, but the trusted subordinates he promoted are still holding positions in various key departments. Mayor Su Changming and Secretary Zhu Tianhe—one is an old-timer who has cultivated his influence for many years, and the other is a powerful figure promoted from Executive Deputy Mayor. The two of them strained every nerve to compete for the mayor's position. Now that they've been forced together, once your Inspection Team goes down there, I estimate your whistleblower mailbox will be stuffed full."

"We aren't afraid of having too many letters; we're only afraid that there's no real substance in them," Team Leader Qiu Rui said, placing his thermos back into the cup holder.

He withdrew his gaze and looked at Qi Tian. "By the way, Minister Qi. Did your Organization Department recently assign a batch of newly recruited young civil servants to the Linjiang Municipal Party Committee?"

Qi Tian thought for a moment. "There is indeed such a matter. It wasn't long after the provincial civil service exam ended, and the allocation plan was made by the division. Why? Is there someone your Discipline Inspection Commission has its eyes on?"

"I wouldn't say we have our eyes on them," Team Leader Qiu Rui tapped his knee with one hand. "On the day of the provincial exam interviews, I happened to be patrolling the exam site at Linjiang No. 3 Middle School. There was a young man whose performance was quite brilliant. He ranked first in the city in the written exam, and his essay on policy analysis was so penetrating that it laid bare the underlying logic and hidden dangers of local government investment vehicle debt."

"That's a real talent," Qi Tian commented. "Which key department was he assigned to?"

"That's where the interesting part is," Team Leader Qiu Rui leaned forward slightly. "He applied for General Division Two of the Linjiang Municipal Party Committee Office, which is Mayor Su Changming's old nest. But in the interview room, several deputy examiners sent down from the province teamed up to give him extremely low scores. They literally squeezed a promising young seed right out of the Municipal Party Committee Office's doors."

Qi Tian's expression tightened slightly. As a Deputy Minister of the Organization Department, he instantly saw through this kind of exam-room trickery.

"And then?" Qi Tian asked.

"Later, Division Chief Liu Haiping of the Provincial Government Office stepped in to coordinate and transferred the kid to Cadre Division 2 of the Linjiang Municipal Organization Department." When Team Leader Qiu Rui reached this point, his tone took on a layer of thought-provoking meaning. "That young man is named Zhu Wenhao, the son of Linjiang's newly appointed Municipal Committee Deputy Secretary, Secretary Zhu Tianhe."

Qi Tian's fingertips tightened.

"It has only been a month since that kid went to Cadre Division 2," Team Leader Qiu Rui continued. "A few days ago, Political Commissar Wang Haitao, the Executive Deputy Director of the Linjiang City Development and Reform Commission, suddenly turned on his superior during an individual interview conducted by the Organization Department's down-reaching team. He reported Zheng Jianguo, the head of the Development and Reform Commission, for procedural violations. And the person responsible for taking the original notes of that interview at the time was none other than Zhu Wenhao."

Qi Tian was an experienced cadre in organizational work. Hearing this, the entire layout of the scheme completely unfolded in his mind.

"The Development and Reform Commission was the city's purse, and Zheng Jianguo was Mayor Su Changming's die-hard trusted subordinate. Taking advantage of the Organization Department's research at the grassroots level, Zhu Wenhao had gone with the flow, using just a few words to ignite the ambition of the Development and Reform Commission's second-in-command. He had literally forced Political Commissar Wang Haitao to act as a spearhead, throwing an explosive package directly onto Mayor Su Changming's desk."

"This move of using the opponent's own strength against them was far more sophisticated and experienced than his age would suggest. It was as if a veteran who had been steeped in the field of power for decades was silently stirring up a storm across the entire city."

"The younger generation is truly to be feared," Qi Tian put his glasses back on, his gaze drifting once more to the roster of Linjiang City cadres. "Secretary Zhu Tianhe has raised a fine dragon. Once this fire in the Development and Reform Commission burns, Mayor Su Changming, who has just taken office, will have no choice but to cut off his own arm to protect himself, abandoning Zheng Jianguo."

Team Leader Qiu Rui did not reply.

He silently recalled the whistleblower letter received three days ago. Its content pointed directly to Phase III of the Chengnan High-tech Industrial Park project in Linjiang City. The flow of funds was extremely clear, pointing out a shell company named 'Shengda Construction' that was suspected of fraudulently obtaining eighty million yuan in advance project payments. The letter's content was pieced together with stickers, making its source untraceable.

For some reason, he always felt that this letter was connected to the young man, Zhu Wenhao.