The Official Ladder: I ascend to the pinnacle of power, wielding the power of life and death.

Jiang Xuangui and Luo Zhangwen, the mayor of Yiyang City, had known each other for a long time and had a relatively close relationship.

Both men were former subordinates of Zhang Changchun, the former chairman of the Municipal People's Political Consultative Conference.

Jiang Xuangui had served as Zhang Changchun's secretary, and Luo Zhangwen was promoted by Zhang Changchun himself.

The two belonged to the same trench.

This is also the main reason why Jiang Xuangui, despite his advanced age, still became the county party secretary.

After exchanging pleasantries with Luo Zhangwen, Jiang Xuangui revealed the purpose of his trip.

Luo Zhangwen did not object to Jiang Xuangui's request.

Promoting people is a good thing.

Why not make Jiang Xuangui owe me a favor?

After finding Luo Zhangwen, Jiang Xuangui then went to Ma Qiyun, the head of the Organization Department of the Municipal Party Committee.

“Old leader, I’m here to recommend someone to you. Minister Zhenlin has worked diligently in our county, and his reputation and ability are beyond reproach. For such a capable and responsible cadre, the organization should give him a higher platform to showcase his talents.”

Jiang Xuangui said, "You know Zhenlin better than I do. I believe Minister Ma has never forgotten those old brothers in Xinping County."

Ma Qiyun was somewhat surprised to hear that Jiang Xuangui had approached him to recommend Zhao Zhenlin.

After all, Zhao Zhenlin and Jiang Xuangui never got along. From the time Jiang Xuangui arrived until he left, Zhao Zhenlin never tried to mend their relationship.

But it was rather strange that Jiang Xuangui came to recommend Zhao Zhenlin to the city.

"Secretary Xuan Gui not only carefully cultivates cadres, but also personally recommends talented individuals to the city. It is a blessing for these young cadres to be able to work with Secretary Xuan Gui."

Ma Qiyun smiled and said, "I will convey your opinion to other city leaders, and I will give you feedback as soon as I have the results."

"Thank you, Minister Qiyun. I won't disturb your work any longer."

After Jiang Xuangui left, he also greeted several other departments.

The leaders in the municipal party committee compound all knew about Jiang Xuangui's efforts to recommend Zhao Zhenlin to the city.

Those who don't know Jiang Xuangui all praise him as a good leader.

After Jiang Xuangui left, Ma Qiyun called Jiang Yiming to inquire about the situation.

Jiang Yiming was also taken aback when he received the news.

A moment later, he figured out the inside story.

“Old leader, you may not know this, but at yesterday’s county party committee standing committee meeting, Jiang Xuangui was going to make trouble for me, but I shut him down. Among the county party committee standing committee members present, only Wang Xianming cheered for him, which made him very angry.”

Jiang Yiming said with a wry smile, "Feeling that his authority has been challenged, he naturally won't sit idly by. He probably wants to weaken my influence by transferring Minister Zhenlin."

“I said that Jiang Xuangui is so kind as to recommend Zhenlin.”

Ma Qiyun shook his head and said, "He really used every trick in the book to seize power, even actively recommending his rival to the city government."

"However, this also shows that you pushed him too far. He had no choice but to resort to this tactic."

"Old leader, you know me. I will not openly challenge Jiang Xuangui unless absolutely necessary."

Jiang Yiming said, "But I have to stand up, otherwise the people of the entire Xinping County will suffer the losses."

“I understand, you’re not the kind of person who blends in with the crowd. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have entrusted you with such an important task back then.”

Ma Qiyun laughed and said, "However, as I said before, struggle requires strategy. In our system, the top leader has absolute power. As the higher-level government, except in very rare cases, it will only protect the interests of the top leader."

“When Jiang Xuangui came to the city to recommend Zhenlin this time, he probably didn’t just go to me. He probably went to see other city leaders as well. The city leaders will generally give his suggestions serious consideration.”

"In addition, Comrade Zhenlin has been in this position for quite some time, so it is only natural to move him to a different position. When Secretary Huaizhang was removed from his position as deputy secretary of the county party committee, many people suggested that Zhao Zhenlin take over, but it was only on my advice that you were replaced."

"Therefore, there is a good chance that Zhao Zhenlin will be moved to a different position this time."

“My old leader, Minister Zhenlin is also my old leader and elder brother. I personally hope that he will be promoted further. As for my situation, please don’t worry too much. I can’t let my personal reasons delay Minister Zhenlin.”

Jiang Yiming stated.

"It's good that you're mentally prepared for this."

Ma Qiyun chatted with Jiang Yiming for a while before hanging up the phone.

Afterwards, Wei Shanghua, the municipal party secretary, called him to his office.

"When Mayor Zhang Wen talked to me about something earlier, he also mentioned the personal issue of Zhao Zhenlin, the head of the Organization Department of Xinping County. He recommended Zhao Zhenlin to serve as the deputy secretary of the county party committee in Xishan County."

Wei Shanghua asked, "What do you think?"

Ma Qiyun recounted the whole story: "Jiang Xuangui wanted to weaken Yiming's influence by transferring away his supporters."

"This is a perfectly normal thing. If someone threatens my authority, I will take the same measures."

"I worry……"

"Are you worried that Jiang Yiming is no match for Jiang Xuangui?"

Wei Shanghua smiled and said, "I understand your concerns. After all, Jiang Xuangui is the top leader and Jiang Yiming is the third-in-command. From all aspects, it is indeed difficult to fight against Jiang Xuangui. But we cannot take sides because of this."

"The spirit of struggle is a valuable theoretical quality of Marxist political parties, a fine tradition and style of our Party, a spiritual outlook shown by our Party in the face of difficulties and challenges, and an important quality that Party members and cadres should possess."

"If Comrade Yiming wants to grow, he must face various challenges and struggles. Only party members and cadres who have experienced rich struggles can demonstrate strong political resolve when facing challenges and difficulties."

"The Party Secretary's considerations are indeed thorough; I was short-sighted."

Ma Qiyun knew that Zhao Zhenlin's transfer was basically a done deal.

On December 21, a joint investigation team entered Xinping County to investigate the Agricultural Bank of China loan case.

Many officials have been implicated in this case.

Party Secretary Wei Shanghua issued an instruction: Either repay the loan, or be arrested and imprisoned.

In a short time, the wives of officials scrambled to raise money to repay their loans.

As the investigation deepened, Xu Hui, the director of Kaiyuan Police Station, became involved in more and more cases.

He not only extorted bribes but also accepted them on a large scale, allowing private business owners to open casinos and brothels in his jurisdiction, providing them with protection and taking a cut of the profits.

Based on the information already available, the total amount of embezzled, bribed, and unexplained funds is over 15 million yuan.

Keep in mind, this was in 2003.

The fact that such a small police station was able to embezzle such a huge amount of money shocked the entire province!

Of course, Guo Hongliang, the former deputy secretary of the county party committee, was also implicated and taken away by the discipline inspection commission for investigation.

Also taken away were Wen Gang, deputy secretary of the county public security bureau party committee and political commissar, Sun Ming, deputy director, deputy captain of the criminal investigation brigade, captain of the economic investigation brigade, and the director of the Xigou Township police station, along with 17 other people from the public security system.

Eight people from the procuratorate and the court were also implicated.

The Agricultural Bank of China loan case and Xu Hui's embezzlement and bribery case implicated a large number of corrupt officials in the public security, procuratorial, and judicial departments.

Of course, 12 people from other departments were also implicated.

As relevant personnel were taken away for investigation, the entire Xinping County was filled with fear.