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

"Secretary, won't this alert the enemy?"

Jiang Yiming expressed his concerns: "Guo Hongliang's mistress's brother is the director of the Kaiyuan Subdistrict Police Station. It is said that he is incompetent and immoral. If we use him as a breakthrough, we should be able to find evidence of Guo Hongliang's illegal activities."

“If we talk to him now, he will be on guard. Given his position and ability, it will be easy for him to prepare in advance, making it difficult to touch him again.”

"I understand what you're saying, but we have limited time, so we need to prioritize."

Ma Qiyun advised, "Yiming, if one day you were in my position, what you need to do is not to focus on a particular point, but to consider the overall situation from a strategic perspective."

“For example, even if you have solid evidence against Guo Hongliang, you can’t take action against him for the time being. Once you do, given his rank, it will inevitably implicate many cadres. As a result, the entire county’s focus will have to revolve around this matter, which will not only consume a lot of manpower and resources, but also make some people worried about being affected by this matter and unwilling to promote enterprise reform.”

"As you saw today, many state-owned enterprises will not survive if they do not reform. This is a major issue involving tens of thousands of people, and if it erupts, it will cause a major social incident. Compared with Guo Hongliang's case, which is more urgent?"

"So if I talk to him now, he will definitely make concessions. As long as he makes concessions, the political situation in Xinping County will undergo a major change. Once I have the initiative, whether it is enterprise reform or other major matters, the resistance to pushing forward will be much smaller."

"Besides, we can wait until this matter is over before we arrange for someone to investigate Guo Hongliang's case. If he has committed a serious crime, he will surely leave many clues, and it won't be too difficult to find out."

"Secretary, Yiming has learned a lot."

Jiang Yiming nodded earnestly and said, "That's why I say you're the secretary and I'm just the secretary. My position is too low, and I need to learn more from the secretary."

"You've already done a great job at your age. Keep observing, thinking, and learning. With your comprehension skills, your progress will be very noticeable."

Ma Qiyun laughed and said, "If Guo Hongliang succeeds in making concessions, you will have done a great service."

"It is my duty to help the Party Secretary solve his problems."

Jiang Yiming said, "I'll go get the photos."

After returning from the research trip with Ma Qiyun, he received a call from Wan Wenbing, who told him that at noon, he had taken photos of Guo Hongliang and his mistress coming out of a room.

He originally wanted to wait for Wan Wenbing to find more evidence, but the situation was urgent, so he had no choice but to get the photos back first, as Ma Qiyun had requested.

"Brother Jiang, the photos are developed."

Wan Wenbing handed the envelope to Jiang Yiming.

Jiang Yiming took it out, glanced at it, and then put it back: "Is the photo developing shop reliable?"

"Don't worry, Brother Jiang, I know what I'm doing."

Jiang Yiming nodded and said, "Go back to work at the institute. This matter is temporarily settled."

He couldn't let Wan Wenbing continue tracking him; if Ma Qiyun spoke with Guo Hongliang, it would inevitably arouse his suspicion.

Guo Hongliang will definitely investigate who is following him. If Wan Wenbing doesn't leave, he will easily be exposed, which would be dangerous.

"Shouldn't we keep following this? I think if we keep going, we'll definitely find the old fox's slip-up."

Wan Wenbing was somewhat puzzled.

"Wenbing, there are some things I can't explain. Let's leave it at that. I'll contact you again if further investigation is needed."

Jiang Yiming said, "Go back and prepare well. Your appointment will be announced after the Standing Committee meeting on Thursday. I have already spoken to Chen Zixin and Liu Sicheng. If you encounter any difficulties after you take office, just go to them."

"Thank you, Brother Jiang! I won't say anything more. I may not have many other abilities, but if you need me to charge into battle, I won't hesitate!"

After saying goodbye to Wan Wenbing, Jiang Yiming returned to the county government compound with the photos.

Ma Qiyun was very happy to receive the photos, but he did not talk to Guo Hongliang immediately, instead delaying it until Thursday morning.

"Secretary Hongliang, it's been a while since we had a private chat, hasn't it?"

Ma Qiyun spoke up.

"It's mainly because Secretary Qiyun, you're too busy. I hardly ever see you..."

Before Guo Hongliang could finish speaking, Ma Qiyun said, "So, Secretary Hongliang, you're implying it was my fault?"

Before Guo Hongliang could explain, Ma Qiyun changed the subject, saying, "Secretary Hongliang will be 58 in six months, right?"

"Yes, it will take another six months to reach the second tier."

Guo Hongliang said, "Secretary Qiyun, rest assured, for the next six months, I will be responsible for every minute I am on duty and will definitely live up to the expectations of the people of Xinping County."

"I remember Secretary Hongliang took sick leave a while ago, supposedly because of heart problems?"

Ma Qiyun said, "There's always work to be done, Secretary Hongliang, you need to get more rest."

"Secretary Qi Yun wants me to step down from my current position and rest at home?"

Guo Hongliang could easily understand Ma Qiyun's meaning, and his expression turned somewhat displeased.

Although Ma Qiyun was the top leader, he was a full-time deputy secretary. If he didn't bring it up himself, it would be difficult for Ma Qiyun to let him leave.

But he didn't expect Ma Qiyun to take the initiative to make him step down to the second line. That was too domineering!

“Secretary Hongliang, you’ve misunderstood. I’m just concerned about your health and worried that you might not be able to handle it. You can’t take my kindness for granted.”

Ma Qiyun laughed.

"I'm perfectly healthy, so there's no need for Secretary to worry about me!"

Guo Hongliang stood up and snorted coldly, "If Secretary doesn't have anything important to say, I'll be leaving now."

"Secretary Hongliang, why the rush?"

Ma Qiyun calmly tossed an envelope onto the table and said, "I have some information here that I want to share with Secretary Hong Liang."

Guo Hongliang had a bad feeling. He stood there staring intently at the envelope, and finally slowly reached out and took it in his hand.

Upon seeing the photos inside, Guo Hongliang turned deathly pale.

"Secretary, I... I was confused for a moment..."

With a mournful face, Guo Hongliang pleaded, "Please, Secretary, give me a chance to reform and start anew."

"I've seen all the photos. It's hard for me to pretend I didn't see anything."

Ma Qiyun lit a cigarette, leaned back on the leather sofa, and slowly began to smoke.

Guo Hongliang knew that if he didn't back down, Ma Qiyun would definitely not let him off the hook. He gritted his teeth and said, "Secretary, I have a heart condition and it is difficult for me to continue serving as deputy secretary. I hope you will allow me to go back and rest."

After saying this, Guo Hongliang's spirits immediately waned, as if he had aged ten years.

“Secretary Hongliang is not in good health and needs to rest and recuperate. I cannot be too selfish and ask Secretary Hongliang to sacrifice his health to serve everyone.”

Ma Qiyun took out a lighter, lit the envelope, and said, "I personally agree to your resignation in principle. Follow the procedures, and I will sign it later."

"Thank you for your understanding, Secretary."

Guo Hongliang stood up, bowed to Ma Qiyun, turned around, and walked away slowly with a hunched back, like a stray dog.