80: Chapter 80 The Situation Has Changed, and a New Variable Has Arrived

Night shrouded the Provincial Party School.

Zhu Wenhao pushed open the door to the double-occupancy dormitory.

Zhou Xu was sitting at the desk, fingers tapping on the keyboard. Hearing the door open, Zhou Xu stopped and turned around.

"Thank you for helping me with the seating arrangements and division of labor today," Zhou Xu said in a flat tone, without any polite pleasantries.

"We each got what we needed."

Zhou Xu took off his black-rimmed glasses and took out a piece of velvet cloth to wipe them slowly. "I'll give you two pieces of news as a bonus, to repay today's favor."

"The reason Director Luo of the Development and Reform Commission was able to quickly approve the additional issuance of Linjiang City's urban construction bonds isn't because of the people below."

Zhou Xu put his glasses back on. "It was the head of the Provincial Government, Governor Zhou, who personally gave the word."

"Division Chief Liu Haiping's destination has been decided; he is being transferred to the Provincial Government as a second-level researcher, with the treatment of a division-level official."

"As for Liu Xiaolei, she has been dismissed from public office, will never be employed again, but is exempt from criminal punishment."

Zhou Xu looked at the screen and added: "This was a consensus reached after Governor Zhou personally stepped in and spoke with Secretary Lao of the Provincial Party Committee."

After saying this, Zhou Xu continued typing on the keyboard, looking focused.

Zhu Wenhao looked at Zhou Xu's back, and the dossier on this person from the roster appeared in his mind.

He graduated from the Chinese Department of The Capital University and just passed the provincial exam this year to enter the Comprehensive Division of the Provincial Party Committee Office. To the outside world, this was a typical example of a commoner rising to success.

Dossiers can be deceiving.

A newly hired staff member could not possibly know the behind-closed-doors dealings between the head of the Provincial Government and the Provincial Party Committee Secretary so thoroughly. Even the division chief of the Comprehensive Division might not be able to get hold of such core secrets.

This connection, Zhou Xu, was buried too deep.

Governor Zhou arrived in Jiangnan two years ago, directly parachuted in from the position of Municipal Party Committee Secretary of a neighboring provincial capital. He is fifty-three years old, in the prime of his life. It is rumored that in his early years, he served as the full-time secretary for a top-tier bigwig among the Twenty-Four Heavens.

The Liu Family had caused a massive disaster this time by leaking the top-secret unified examination papers; it was supposed to be a dead end. Elder Liu had to scrape together every resource he had, calling upon the favor of that top-tier bigwig, to convince Governor Zhou to step in and protect their own.

Being transferred to a second-level researcher position and being sidelined was the best outcome Division Chief Liu Haiping could hope for.

Zhu Wenhao's phone screen lit up. Caller: Father.

Zhu Wenhao picked up the phone, walked out of the dormitory, and went to the open balcony at the end of the corridor.

He answered the call.

"Zhu Wenhao, did your registration at the Party School go smoothly?" Secretary Zhu Tianhe's voice came through the receiver.

"Everything is going according to plan."

"Your grandfather just called your mother and praised you quite a bit. The old man hasn't been this happy in a long time."

"Grandfather is too kind. Is everything at home alright?"

After a few words of small talk, Secretary Zhu Tianhe got to the point.

"Tonight, an old leader tipped me off that there are variables in the personnel situation here in Linjiang. The matter of Standing Committee Member Zhang Zhiqiang becoming Executive Vice Mayor has fallen through."

Zhu Wenhao looked at the streetlights outside the balcony and didn't respond.

"Deputy Secretary Yang of the Provincial Party Committee directly rejected the proposal report submitted by our Linjiang Municipal Party Committee."

"Deputy Secretary Yang clearly stated that what Linjiang needs right now is an expert who understands the economy and can manage operations. Standing Committee Member Zhang Zhiqiang has been the Secretary of the High-tech Zone Working Committee for several years, yet the economic indicators have never improved; he cannot shoulder the heavy responsibility of Executive Vice Mayor."

The interest exchange between Secretary Tian Limin and Mayor Su Changming had been cut off by the higher-ups.

"Secretary Yang has already set the tone: Executive Vice Mayor Han Qiming of the Provincial Government's State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission will be transferred to Linjiang to serve as Executive Vice Mayor."

"Deputy Secretary Yang also specifically criticized Deputy Minister Qi Tian of the Organization Department, saying that the evaluation materials he prepared were not solid and completely failed to consider Standing Committee Member Zhang Zhiqiang's actual work ability and the realistic problems facing Linjiang City. He demanded that the materials be re-prepared and submitted."

Secretary Zhu Tianhe paused, then added the most critical sentence.

"This Executive Vice Mayor Han Qiming is a young, promising official promoted by Governor Zhou after he took office. Moreover, just in these past two days, Elder Liu's former subordinates have already begun frequently reporting their work to Governor Zhou."

The sequence of events was now completely clear.

After reminding his son to take care of his health in the provincial capital, Secretary Zhu Tianhe hung up the phone.

Zhu Wenhao put away his phone and returned to the dormitory to wash up.

He lay on the single bed, hands behind his head.

He had spent sixty years in Daming Palace and had seen countless factional struggles. But the game of chess currently unfolding in Jiangnan Province was much more interesting than those civil officials in the ming dynasty court who only knew how to write memorials to criticize others.

The Liu Family had suffered a bone-deep loss this time, not just losing a massive favor to keep a crippled Division Chief Liu Haiping. More fatally, Elder Liu had taken the pawns he had planted in key positions across Jiangnan Province years ago and thrown them under Governor Zhou's command as bargaining chips.

This is called handing over one's power base.

But Elder Liu's move of cutting off his tail to survive could be called textbook-level shrewdness. Being old and frail, he could not withstand the thunderous purge by Secretary Lao of the Provincial Party Committee, so he decisively abandoned the fruits of his years of hard work to bide his time. He handed these resources over to Governor Zhou, letting Governor Zhou stand at the forefront and become the new target in Secretary Lao's eyes.

If Secretary Lao wanted to expand his gains and completely clear out Elder Liu's remaining forces, he would inevitably have to move against these people who had already switched sides. Moving against them meant moving against Governor Zhou's power base, and a conflict between the two was inevitable.

What a brilliant strategy of driving a tiger to devour a wolf.

And as for Governor Zhou's side, could he not see that this was a trap?

Of course he saw it very clearly. But even knowing it was poison, he had to swallow it in one gulp.

He had been parachuted into Jiangnan for two years without any troops or generals under his command. Now, a large group of ready-made local powerhouses occupying key departments had voluntarily defected. As long as he could absorb and digest these people, he would be able to firmly establish his footing in the Provincial Government and have The Capital to contend with the top leader.

The temptation was too great; this was the open conspiracy of power. Even if it was laced with arsenic, one had to smile and swallow it down.

Secretary Tian Limin had schemed for so long, only for it to be all in vain. He didn't get the Executive Vice Mayor position, and instead, someone was directly parachuted in from the province.

In the dark of the night, Zhu Wenhao turned over and adjusted to a comfortable sleeping position.

The next morning.

Just as the sky was beginning to brighten, sounds of washing up came from the dormitory corridor of the Spark Class.

Zhou Xu was dressed neatly early on, in a grey tracksuit. He carried a black-covered notebook and knocked on the dormitory doors one by one.

"Gather at the playground at 6:30. Attend morning exercises on time. This is a written regulation issued by the Provincial Organization Department. Students of the Spark Class must not only enrich their theoretical armament but also have excellent physical fitness."

Zhou Xu's voice echoed in the corridor, business-like and unyielding.

Young people like to sleep and are mostly lacking in exercise, so complaints rose one after another.

Class Monitor stood at the dormitory door, looking at Zhou Xu. He had originally wanted to make a fuss to stir up the students' dissatisfaction with such exhausting regulations and turn their spearhead towards the Class Committee.

But seeing Zhou Xu's meticulous attitude, he swallowed his words.

The Class Committee is a collective. As the Class Monitor, he also had an obligation to maintain the authority of the Class Committee members; otherwise, if the Class Committee's authority was lost, he wouldn't be able to carry out his own work.

This was their first public appearance; he couldn't be careless. Class Monitor dared not act rashly and obediently went back to his room to change his shoes.

6:30.

Thirty Spark Class students finished lining up on the playground.

The autumn morning breeze was chilly, but the atmosphere in the ranks was somewhat lively. Everyone went through the motions of stretching and jogging.

Instructor Gao Jianguo stood at the edge of the playground, hands behind his back, watching coldly. He had hoped that this group of young masters and young ladies would make a fuss in the morning so he could take the opportunity to enforce discipline and dampen Zhu Wenhao's spirit.

As it turned out, Zhou Xu had arranged everything in an orderly manner, and the team ran neatly. Instructor Gao Jianguo couldn't find a reason to make trouble and could only stare helplessly.

Zhu Wenhao ran in the middle of the line, his pace steady, his breathing even. Study Committee Member Cao Rui ran by his side.

"Zhou Xu is really good at execution," Study Committee Member Cao Rui said, panting. "He managed to get everyone out so early, and not a single person asked for leave."

"Once the rules are set, someone has to enforce them."

Zhu Wenhao looked straight ahead. "Only when a class has rules will everyone know where the bottom line is."

Morning exercises ended, and the students headed to the cafeteria for breakfast.

8:00 sharp.

Multimedia classroom in the teaching building.

Everyone sat down according to the arranged seating.

The bell for class rang.

The Executive Vice Principal of the Party School walked onto the podium with a thick stack of lecture notes.

The first class officially began.

"Today we will discuss the dilemmas and countermeasures of local economic transformation under the new situation." The Vice Principal picked up a piece of chalk and wrote a line of large characters on the blackboard.

The only sound left in the classroom was the rustling of pen tips across paper.

Zhu Wenhao opened his notebook and took notes.

Far from the trivial struggles of Linjiang City, this Party School in the provincial capital was a huge melting pot, gathering the most ambitious and well-connected young people from all over the province.

The people sitting here, ten or twenty years from now, might be the figures governing various regions.

He looked at Class Monitor sitting diagonally in front of him, then glanced at Liu Ruobing, who was taking notes seriously on the other side. Lei Zhenzi was yawning in the back row, and Shen Zhe was sitting upright.

An intricate interpersonal network was quietly being woven in this spacious classroom.

"Regarding the restructuring and mergers of local state-owned assets, what are your thoughts?" The Vice Principal threw out an open-ended question.

Several students raised their hands to speak, mostly reciting clichés from the book.

Zhu Wenhao lowered his head to record the key points, not trying to stand out. At yesterday's opening ceremony, he had already demonstrated enough strategic vision and gained the recognition of Minister Xiao Dingyu. Too much is as bad as too little; showing too much edge easily invites collective attacks.

Right now, he needed to play the role of a steady Party Branch Secretary, silently observing the abilities and temperaments of these classmates.

Those who would be commanders must first know themselves and their enemy.