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

"Since Mayor Zhang Wen has brought up the issue of appointing the top official of Xinping County, let's discuss and vote on both issues together."

Wei Shanghua took a sip of water slowly and continued, "Mayor Zhang Wen just said that the most important thing for Xinping County right now is to stabilize the overall situation, and I strongly agree with his point of view."

"It's not just me; Secretary Li of the Provincial Party Committee also gave the same instruction. Yesterday, when I went to the province to report on the work of optimizing the business environment, I mentioned Xinping County. After all, Xinping County is the place where the work of optimizing the business environment started, and Secretary Li attaches great importance to it. He said that the position of the Party Secretary of Xinping County will be decided by our Municipal Party Committee, and he only has one requirement: it must not affect the promotion of the work of optimizing the business environment."

"According to this principle, it is not suitable for Xinping County to parachute in a new county party secretary in order to maintain the current situation. Moreover, Zhang Yuntao has caused a series of conflicts due to his poor performance. If he were to become the secretary, it would be difficult for him to win the support of the people."

"Therefore, my personal suggestion is to postpone the appointment of a Party Secretary for Xinping County until a more suitable opportunity arises. What do you all think?"

Everyone looked at each other, and finally Luo Zhangwen spoke first.

"Secretary Shang Hua's consideration is very thorough, and I agree. Having County Head Zhang Yuntao temporarily preside over the work of the County Party Committee can reduce the negative emotions of other cadres and also contribute to the overall stability of Xinping County. It can be described as killing two birds with one stone."

Seeing that Wei Shanghua had no intention of retracting his punishment of Zhang Yuntao, Luo Zhangwen had no choice but to settle for second best, suggesting that recommending Zhang Yuntao to temporarily preside over the county party committee's work was also a good option. He could then be officially appointed after a year, which would be a natural progression.

"Mayor Zhang Wen may not have understood what I meant. Of course, it is also possible that I did not express myself clearly."

Wei Shanghua smiled and said, "My personal suggestion is that Jiang Yiming, deputy secretary of the Xinping County Party Committee, should preside over the overall work of the county party committee."

"There are several reasons. First, Zhang Yuntao is responsible for a series of negative events in the past and is not suitable to preside over the work of the county party committee at the moment. Second, as the head of the county government, Zhang Yuntao is already quite busy presiding over the overall work of the county government, and does not have enough time to preside over the overall work of the county party committee, which is not conducive to the development of the county party committee's work. Third, as the initiator of the work to optimize the business environment, Jiang Yiming's presiding over the work of the county party committee is more conducive to promoting the work of optimizing the business environment. Fourth, as the deputy secretary of the county party committee, Jiang Yiming is deeply loved and supported by cadres at all levels in Xinping County, and his presiding over the overall work of the county party committee is more conducive to uniting cadres at all levels in Xinping County and promoting the rapid and sound development of Xinping County."

As soon as Wei Shanghua finished speaking, the entire conference room fell silent.

No one expected that Wei Shanghua would let Jiang Yiming, the deputy secretary, take charge of the overall work of the county party committee.

Although relevant regulations stipulate that when the Party Secretary is absent, the Deputy Party Secretary shall preside over all work in his place, Jiang Yiming, as a full-time Deputy Party Secretary, is theoretically qualified to preside over all work.

However, while theory is one thing, in practice, very few instances have occurred where the county party committee's work has been overseen by a full-time deputy secretary, bypassing the position of the head of government.

"I agree with Secretary Shang Hua's opinion."

Long Shaolin was the first to speak up in support.

"I agree with the secretary's opinion."

Ma Qiyun made the second opening.

"I agree with Secretary Shang Hua's opinion. I had only heard of him before. We worked together for a period of time in the process of optimizing the business environment. I saw a lot of vigor in him. He is not only very enthusiastic about his work and has a strong sense of responsibility, but he can also consider issues from the perspective of ordinary people. He is a good cadre."

Zhu Jun, member of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee and Executive Vice Mayor, spoke first.

Zhu Jun's expression of support surprised many people present.

"I also agree that Comrade Jiang Yiming should preside over the work of the Xinping County Party Committee."

Yang Zhen, a member of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee and Secretary of the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection, also spoke out.

So far, four members of the Standing Committee have expressed their support.

One of them is the head of the Organization Department, one is the secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission, and one is the executive vice mayor. They are among the most powerful people in the department.

If several people simultaneously express their support for a particular individual, even the mayor might not be able to change their minds, let alone with the support of the municipal party secretary, Wei Shanghua.

At this point, Zhang Yuntao not only lost the opportunity to be promoted to secretary, but also lost the qualification to preside over the work of the county party committee.

Luo Zhangwen kept his head down and remained silent.

His statement was meaningless at this point, so he remained silent.

Several other members of the Standing Committee then expressed their opinions.

"Alright, everyone has shared their opinions. Now let's vote to decide."

Wei Shanghua said, "Those who agree to punish Jiang Xuangui and Zhang Yuntao according to the report submitted by the Discipline Inspection Commission, please raise your hands."

In the end, all eight members of the Standing Committee raised their hands.

"Please raise your hand if you agree that Jiang Yiming, Deputy Secretary of the Xinping County Party Committee, will temporarily preside over the overall work of the County Party Committee."

In the end, all nine members of the Standing Committee raised their hands.

"Based on the voting results just now, both of these matters have been approved."

Wei Shanghua said, "In order to maintain stability in Xinping County and promote unity and cooperation within the Xinping County Party Committee, Minister Qi Yun will accompany me to Xinping County this afternoon to announce the decision of the Municipal Party Committee Standing Committee."

…………

For a short period of time recently, County Head Zhang Yuntao has always had a smile on his face. No matter who greets him, he nods and sometimes even takes the initiative to chat for a few words.

"Secretary Yuntao, Mr. Huang from Dezheng Construction is hosting a lunch party and would like to invite you to attend. I wonder if it would be convenient for you?"

Wang Xianming knocked on the door and came in.

The two were comrades-in-arms in the same trench during the battle to snipe Jiang Xuangui.

Now that their strategic goals have been achieved, the two have grown closer.

“County Chief Xianming, the city hasn’t appointed anyone yet. If you call him ‘Secretary’ now, it will cause misunderstandings.”

Zhang Yuntao corrected him.

“You are the First Deputy Secretary of the Xinping County Party Committee. There’s nothing wrong with calling you ‘Secretary.’ Let’s see who dares to gossip about it.”

Wang Xianming laughed and said, "Besides, it's only going to happen in the next few days. Let's shout it out now and get used to it in advance."

"You're just good at sophistry. I can't argue with you."

Although Zhang Yuntao said he didn't want to be called "Secretary," he was secretly delighted.

"By the way, you just said that Boss Huang invited me to lunch. Did you say why?"

“Secretary Yuntao, don’t overthink it. Boss Huang has always respected you and wanted to visit you, but you’re too busy with work and he was too embarrassed to bother you.”

Wang Xianming laughed and said, "This time he mustered up a lot of courage to ask me to act as an intermediary and invite you to the appointment."

"He doesn't have anything to do, he just wanted to invite you to get together."

Zhang Yuntao naturally knew that the other party was talking nonsense. The reason why Huang Yujian had not visited him before was mainly because Jiang Xuangui was backing him up.

"Okay, let's go together at noon."

Zhang Yuntao naturally couldn't refuse Wang Xianming's request, so he smiled and said, "County Chief Xianming, please go and invite Secretary Yiming to join us."

"Okay, Secretary Yuntao."

Wang Xianming knocked on Jiang Yiming's office door and then walked in.

"Secretary Yiming, are you still busy?"

"I have some things to take care of."

Jiang Yiming put down his pen, stood up and stretched, and said with a smile, "What brings County Magistrate Xianming here today?"

"I have been entrusted by Secretary Yuntao to invite you to the banquet at noon today."

Upon hearing the other person address Zhang Yuntao as Secretary, Jiang Yiming smiled noncommittally and asked, "I haven't heard of any other leaders coming today?"

"Oh, it's Mr. Huang Yujian from Dezheng Construction Company who's hosting a dinner for Secretary Yuntao. Secretary Yuntao asked me to invite you to the banquet."

"I'm really sorry, I have an urgent matter to attend to, so I won't be able to go. Please convey my apologies to County Chief Yuntao. Please enjoy your meal."

Jiang Yiming politely declined.

He had a very low opinion of Dezheng Construction Company.

He recently visited Xigou Township to conduct research, during which he inspected the township's post-disaster reconstruction projects.

At that time, the post-disaster reconstruction project was contracted out to Wang Lin’s Jiuzhou Company and Dezheng Construction Company respectively.

After inspecting the site, he discovered the discrepancy between the two buildings.

The houses built by Kyushu Corporation are very sturdy, and many of the auxiliary materials used are of genuine quality.

The houses built by Dezheng Construction Company clearly used substandard building materials. Many houses leaked from the top floor when it rained, which greatly affected the villagers' quality of life.

Many villagers filed complaints and petitions, but nothing came of it.

Jiang Yiming had sent people to investigate, but the villagers dared not tell the truth anymore. In addition, Wang Xianming and Jiang Xuangui obstructed the investigation, which led to the matter being dropped.

Therefore, he disliked Dezheng Construction Company very much and naturally wouldn't participate in such activities.