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

The detention of Jiang Xuangui for investigation caused a great stir in Xinping County.

At this time, people were restless, and each cadre had their own thoughts.

Whether in townships or county departments, many officials began to frequent County Head Zhang Yuntao's office.

In particular, some cadres who had a good relationship with Jiang Xuangui were even more eager to go to Zhang Yuntao's office.

They were all just using the guise of reporting to show their loyalty and make a quick appearance.

Chen Xujian, member of the Standing Committee of the County Party Committee and Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission, Chen Zixin, member of the Standing Committee of the County Party Committee and Deputy County Head, and Du Zhengqiang, Deputy County Head and Director of the Public Security Bureau, came to Jiang Yiming one after another to report on their work, but in reality, they were inquiring about the situation.

The most pressing concern for all the county's officials right now is who will become the Party Secretary of Xinping County.

Some say he was parachuted in from outside, others say Zhang Yuntao took over.

In any case, no one thought Jiang Yiming was qualified to take over, since Jiang Yiming is a local and, according to relevant regulations, cannot serve as the county party secretary.

"Secretary Yiming, Jiang Xuangui has been taken away for investigation. Do you think the city will appoint Zhang Yuntao as secretary, or parachute in a county party secretary?"

Chen Xujian asked aloud.

"It's hard to say, I haven't received any news yet."

Jiang Yiming spoke the truth.

After Jiang Xuangui was taken away, Zhang Yuntao was busy running around and had no time to work.

But there were still a lot of things in the county that needed to be decided, so Jiang Yiming could only handle his work silently.

He was so busy he barely had time to put his feet down, he didn't have time to inquire about this matter.

"Such a big thing, and you don't care at all?"

Chen Xujian could hardly believe it.

"What's the use of me caring? It's not like I can make the decision."

Jiang Yiming laughed and said, "Besides, this matter would never happen to me, and I'm not particularly interested in knowing. I believe Secretary Wei will arrange a good secretary for our county."

"I have to admire your composure; you can still stay calm at a time like this."

Chen Xujian didn't get the answer he wanted, so he had no choice but to leave.

Jiang Yiming was dealing with his work when his phone rang.

"Old boss, what brings you to call me?"

Jiang Yiming smiled and asked when he saw that it was Ma Qiyun calling.

"Have you been very busy lately?"

"I am quite busy; there are many things to handle in the county."

Jiang Yiming said succinctly.

"You haven't contacted Secretary Wei?"

"No, what's wrong, boss?"

"You haven't contacted Secretary Wei, nor have you contacted me. Aren't you curious about the secretary the city has assigned to your Xinping County?"

"I was a little curious, but I had a lot on my plate, so I didn't have time to call you."

Jiang Yiming asked, "Is the city planning to parachute in someone, or is it planning to promote Zhang Yuntao?"

"You finally asked. I thought you weren't curious."

Ma Qiyun smiled and said, "Last time I accompanied Secretary Wei to visit you, you told him about Jiang Xuangui's problem. At that time, Secretary Wei did not express his opinion on the spot. After all, the problem of the top leader of a county involves many aspects, so he could not make any promises to you."

"But on the way back, he had a brief chat with me, the gist of which was that he wanted to remove Jiang Xuangui and parachute in a new secretary. However, before any action was taken, Zhang Changchun went to the municipal party committee several times to plead with Secretary Wei on Jiang Xuangui's behalf. Secretary Wei had no choice but to delay and wait for a suitable opportunity to remove Jiang Xuangui. Subsequently, a standing committee meeting was held to discuss how to handle the petition incident involving teachers and staff in Xinping County. Standing Committee member Long and I suggested removing Jiang Xuangui and re-electing a county party secretary, but several standing committee members opposed this. Some even proposed disciplinary action within the party. Because of the considerable controversy, the matter was shelved."

"However, judging from his remarks at the Standing Committee meeting, Luo Zhangwen unusually did not express his support for Jiang Xuangui, but instead praised Zhang Yuntao a few times."

"Before this matter could be brought up again by the Standing Committee, Jiang Xuangui ran into trouble. If I'm not mistaken, the Standing Committee will be held in the next day or two to discuss the decision on Jiang Xuangui and the personnel issues in Xinping County."

"Judging from his last speech, Zhang Yuntao should have already gotten in touch with Mayor Luo. If Secretary Wei doesn't have a suitable reason to object, there's a good chance that Zhang Yuntao will become the Party Secretary of Xinping County. You should be prepared."

“Old leader, you know my character. I’m just stating the facts, not the person. To be honest, Zhang Yuntao wouldn’t be much better than Jiang Xuangui as secretary. They’re about the same.”

Jiang Yiming sighed, "In such a large city like ours, can't we even elect a single good cadre to be the Party Secretary?"

“Yiming, that’s not how you put it. Appointing the top leader of a county requires comprehensive consideration of various factors.”

Ma Qiyun said, "Of course, I'm just telling you the information we have so you can be prepared. You should try to ease tensions where necessary and get closer to him if needed. Don't wait until he becomes the real secretary, or your work will become difficult. As for the outcome, I still don't know what Secretary Wei is thinking. He hasn't spoken to me yet."

"Thank you for the reminder, old leader. Even if I knew that Zhang Yuntao would be taking over as secretary, I would not have taken the initiative to flatter him."

Jiang Yiming said, "I can't get over that mental hurdle. I'm afraid that before I can even say anything flattering, I'll spit in his face first."

"You still can't change your temper."

Ma Qiyun laughed and said, "I've given you all the reminders you need to. As for how you do it, that's up to you. Everyone has different ideas and different principles for doing things, so I won't force you."

The two chatted for a while before hanging up the phone.

At this moment, Jiang Yiming had no interest in handling affairs.

If what Ma Qiyun said is true, and Luo Zhangwen strongly supports Zhang Yuntao, then the possibility of him becoming the Party Secretary is still very high.

After all, Zhang Yuntao was the county magistrate, so he had a natural advantage in taking over the position.

The situation is turbulent in the county, and it's no different in the city.

The appointment of a county party secretary involves a power struggle among many stakeholders.

It was 04, and the power to appoint county party secretaries was still held by the city. However, Wei Shanghua still found an opportunity to go to the province to report to Li Zhengquan and, incidentally, suggested a candidate for the position of county party secretary of Xinping County, while also offering his own opinions.

"The appointment of the Party Secretary of Xinping County is decided by your Municipal Party Committee, and I will not interfere. However, I personally suggest that stability should be the top priority, especially to ensure that the work of optimizing the business environment is not affected. I plan to promote the work throughout the province after summarizing the experience of your Yiyang City. If problems arise in the place where this work was initiated, it will bring considerable resistance to the promotion of this work."

"Yes, Secretary, I understand what you mean. I will carry out your instructions to the fullest extent and ensure the vigorous advancement of the work to optimize the business environment without any mishaps."

After Wei Shanghua understood Li Zhengquan's intentions, he returned to Yiyang City.

The municipal party committee then convened a meeting of its standing committee to discuss the petitioning incident in Xinping County and personnel issues in Xinping County.

"Minister Ma, Secretary Wei asked me to inform you that the Municipal Party Committee Standing Committee meeting will be held in the small conference room at 10:00."

Li Xinhou, now the deputy director of the Municipal Party Committee Office, director of the Municipal Reception Office, and secretary to Wei Shanghua, came to inform Ma Qiyun to attend a meeting.

"Director Li, did Secretary Wei mention what the meeting's theme is?"

"Discuss the petitioning incident in Xinping County and personnel issues in Xinping County."