189: Chapter 189 First Standing Committee Meeting

Director Zhu Huabing personally came to report to Secretary Qin.

"Secretary, I have successfully fulfilled the mission. We have captured Shangguan Bao..."

Hearing the report, Qin Chuan felt a surge of joy. "Good, excellent!"

"Director Zhu, immediately conduct an in-depth interrogation of Shangguan Bao and the others. Dig deep into his criminal activities!"

Zhu Huabing replied, "Rest assured, leader. We will withstand all pressure and dig out all of Shangguan Bao's criminal problems!"

Beside him, Secretary Liu Zheming also nodded. "I'll go to the County Public Security Bureau with you in a moment. I'll oversee things personally. If anyone comes to plead for mercy, tell them to come find me."

Hearing this, Zhu Huabing felt a total weight lift from his heart.

To be honest, he had been under pressure.

As the Director of the County Public Security Bureau, and having risen through the ranks from criminal investigation team leader to deputy director, Zhu Huabing naturally knew Master Wang Sen's influence in Wanshun County.

Now that his disciple had been arrested, Master Wang Sen would definitely exert his power. With Secretary Liu Zheming overseeing the County Public Security Bureau, there wouldn't be much pressure.

After the three of them chatted about Shangguan Bao for a while, Qin Chuan saw Secretary Liu Zheming and Director Zhu Huabing to the office door, then called Director Hu Bing of the County Party Committee Office.

"Director Hu, notify the comrades. We will hold a Standing Committee meeting in half an hour."

This was also the first Standing Committee meeting Qin Chuan had convened since taking office.

In the few days since taking office, he had interacted with all the county leaders and formed impressions of each. Given recent events, this Standing Committee meeting could no longer be delayed.

Could he control the Standing Committee?

Qin Chuan wasn't worried about this question for now. Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission Yuan Hui had just been taken away for investigation, and with the support of Director Hu Bing, County Mayor Sheng Huaian, and others, the likelihood of him being at a disadvantage in the Standing Committee should not be high.

After the notification went out, committee members began entering the meeting room twenty minutes later to attend the Standing Committee meeting.

Gradually, more and more committee members arrived.

While waiting for the meeting to start, everyone chatted casually.

"This is Secretary Qin's first Standing Committee meeting since taking office. I wonder what issues will be discussed."

"At the very least, it won't be personnel adjustments. I think the possibility of work reassignments is also low."

"You all must have heard about what happened yesterday in Jinshi Township. It's likely related to that."

"..."

As they chatted, County Mayor Sheng Huaian entered a few minutes later, and after another minute or two, Qin Chuan walked into the meeting room.

Sitting down in his place, Qin Chuan checked the time. "There's a minute and a half left. Director Hu, are all the comrades attending the meeting present?"

Hu Bing answered, "Secretary, Deputy Party Secretary Liu Yu has not arrived yet."

Indeed, a seat nearby was empty.

Qin Chuan showed no signs of dissatisfaction or anger, saying with a smile, "The time hasn't arrived yet, so we will wait for Deputy Secretary Liu."

Where was Liu Yu?

He was on his way back in a hurry and might still be a few minutes away.

After Shangguan Bao was arrested, Master Wang Sen knew immediately and called Liu Yu over with a single phone call.

Liu Yu didn't dare to delay and immediately went to Master Wang Sen's residence.

He didn't take the notice of the Standing Committee meeting to heart either, intentionally delaying for a long time before finally leaving the Wang residence to return for the meeting.

Inside the meeting room.

Qin Chuan said, "It's time for the meeting. This is the first Standing Committee meeting for the new leadership, and it's not good to have people missing. So let's wait a bit longer. Director Hu, give Deputy Secretary Liu another call and ask how much longer he'll be."

Hu Bing immediately made the call.

A low hum of discussion rose in the meeting room.

Some leaders felt Liu Yu was being somewhat out of line, especially those who usually didn't get along with him.

There were 11 Standing Committee members in total in Wanshun County, and they were not a monolithic block. Led by Liu Yu and Yuan Hui, a group of four committee members formed a faction, all of whom leaned toward Master Wang Sen.

County Mayor Sheng Huaian and Executive Deputy County Mayor Executive Deputy County Head Zhou Liang were another faction, while the others were basically neutral, leaning toward neither side and offending neither.

After waiting a full five or six minutes, Liu Yu finally arrived.

Pushing the door open, he simply said, "Sorry for the wait, I was delayed by some business." Then, he plopped down into his seat.

Qin Chuan reminded him, "Deputy Secretary Liu, everyone has waited for you for over five minutes. Aren't you going to apologize?"

Liu Yu felt a slight surge of anger, but since he was in the wrong, he had to stand up. "I was delayed by some important affairs. I guarantee it won't happen next time. My apologies to everyone."

Once Liu Yu had apologized, Qin Chuan presided over the meeting.

"Comrades, we are now officially in session. This is the first Standing Committee meeting since I took office. Although I have basically interacted with everyone, we are not yet very familiar, especially regarding your respective areas of responsibility. So, for the first item on the agenda, please introduce yourselves, specifically focusing on the work you are responsible for."

Thus, the Standing Committee members each gave a brief self-introduction.

Qin Chuan deepened his impressions, particularly understanding their respective areas of responsibility. He had no intention of adjusting their roles just yet, but he certainly would. He would observe for a while first.

Adjusting the work content and division of labor was the right of the County Party Secretary, and Qin Chuan would certainly make good use of it.

He would observe for a period to determine who was in the opposition and who wanted to align with him, then make adjustments based on that.

There were 11 Standing Committee members in Wanshun County.

They were:

County Party Secretary: Qin Chuan

County Mayor: Sheng Huaian

Deputy Party Secretary: Liu Yu

Executive Deputy County Mayor: Executive Deputy County Head Zhou Liang

Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission and Director of the Supervisory Committee: Huang Jianping

Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission: Yuan Hui (taken away for investigation)

Director of the County Committee Organization Department: Ling Yun

Director of the County Propaganda Department: Wu Zhiyong

Deputy County Mayor: He Jing

Director of the County Committee Office: Hu Bing

Director of the County People's Armed Forces Department: Minister Wang Jijun

Aside from Director of the Armed Forces Department Minister Wang Jijun, whom he was meeting for the second time, he had seen the other committee members three to five times and was not a stranger to them.

After the introductions, Qin Chuan mentioned the incident that occurred yesterday in Jinshi Township.

"Comrades, you should all know about what happened in Jinshi Township yesterday, so I won't go into detail. I didn't expect that an illegal factory had existed there for a long time. The gold miners there were all lured by deception and subjected to forced labor; any disobedience resulted in a severe beating!"

"This man Shangguan Bao has a notorious record. He actually tried to shoot me, the County Party Secretary, and killed someone in front of so many people. It's simply lawless..."

After speaking with righteous indignation, Qin Chuan demanded, "Such illegal gold mining factories must be resolutely shut down, and related issues must be thoroughly investigated. Whoever is involved will be severely punished!"

After he finished, to everyone's surprise, Liu Yu spoke up.

"Secretary Qin, I think you are imagining the situation to be more serious than it is. Illegal gold mining has always existed in Jinshi Township, and the chaos there is a historical issue that cannot be blamed on any single person."

"As for Shangguan Bao, he must have acted on impulse to do such a thing. The shooting was also an accident; at most, it should be considered involuntary manslaughter."