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

"Why are the villagers of Yaogou Village gathering to cause trouble?"

Huang Shaohua inquired.

“Our town is a major coal-producing area with dozens of small coal mines of varying sizes. Those criminal gangs, for their own profit, incited villagers to cause trouble in order to seize more coal resources. Our town government naturally cannot back down. Therefore, we have arrested troublemakers many times. Yesterday, we arrested five ringleaders, and they came to cause trouble as soon as it was light today.”

Fei Xuechao said, "In order not to bow to evil forces, I firmly disagree with releasing those five troublemakers, and I hope the county magistrate will support me."

"This is outrageous! They dare to besiege the town government! They must be dealt with!"

Huang Shaohua immediately made a decision: "Your town government should continue to maintain dialogue, control the situation as much as possible, and try to persuade the villagers to go back."

"Of course, we will resolutely crack down on those who are stubborn and those evil forces hiding behind the scenes. We will arrest them one by one and eradicate them completely through this incident!"

"I immediately called Director Liang and asked him to send people to provide support, and to report to me promptly if anything happens."

"Thank you for your support, County Head. I will report the progress to you as soon as possible."

Fei Xuechao quickly replied.

After hanging up the phone, Huang Shaohua called Liang Yongguang over.

"Director Yongguang, have you heard about what happened in Nangang Town?"

"I heard about it. Xing Dayun, the director of the Nangang Town Police Station, called me to report the relevant situation."

Liang Yongguang said, "County Chief, I personally suggest that the government departments form a mediation team to talk with the villagers on-site and persuade them to go back through persuasion and other means. Our Public Security Bureau will maintain order on the periphery and will not intervene for the time being to avoid escalating the conflict."

“If mediation had worked, things wouldn’t have escalated to this point. Haven’t you heard? They even dared to assault the police station chief. They’ve become lawless. Sending more people over won’t make a difference. If they get injured, will you take responsibility?”

Huang Shaohua said, "Alright, immediately dispatch police forces to assist the Nangang Town government in handling this matter."

"County Head, this is such a big matter. Shouldn't we report it to the Party Secretary first, or perhaps you could convene a meeting of the County Party Committee Standing Committee to discuss it before making a decision?"

Liang Yongguang suggested.

"In urgent situations, we should act expediently. The Party Secretary is busy with matters in the capital, so we shouldn't distract him. As for holding a meeting, there's even less need for it. By the time the meeting is over, things will have already blown up."

Huang Shaohua said, "Alright, just do as I instruct."

Liang Yongguang dared not disobey the order and immediately dispatched police forces, led by Deputy Director Liu Guangji, to support Nangang Town.

"Director Guangji, your primary task is to maintain order. Without my orders, you must not arrest anyone, so as not to escalate the conflict and cause the situation to develop in an uncontrollable direction."

Liang Yongguang explained, "I will report to the Party Secretary and hope he can give the latest instructions."

"Okay, Director, I'll wait for the Secretary's call and your call."

After receiving the order, Liu Guangji led nearly a hundred police officers to Nangang Town.

Liang Yongguang then called Jiang Yiming to report the incident in Nangang Town.

"Secretary, is it convenient for you to take this call? I have an urgent matter to report to you."

"I've just arrived in Dongjiang City. Just tell me what's on your mind."

After Jiang Yiming got off the plane, he and Ding Li headed to the municipal government.

"Secretary, a large number of villagers in Nangang Town have surrounded the town government, leading to a clash that injured several villagers and police officers. The situation has stabilized temporarily, but villagers are still heading to the town government. We have also received a call for help from the Nangang Town Police Station. County Chief Huang has also received a request for help from the Nangang Town government. I suggested that the county government set up a mediation team to talk to the villagers, while we would be responsible for maintaining order, but the county chief rejected this idea, as he was worried that the emotionally charged villagers might injure the mediation team members."

Liang Yongguang said, "He asked us to send personnel to Nangang Town to assist the Nangang Town government in handling this incident. I had no choice but to send Liu Guangji with 100 police officers to provide support. However, my orders to Liu Guangji were to prioritize maintaining order and prevent the situation from escalating further."

"But I feel that if the government doesn't step in to mediate, the villagers will find it difficult to leave. The conflict is very likely to escalate. So I'm reporting this to you immediately and asking for your instructions."

"Why didn't County Magistrate Shaohua report such a big matter to me?"

Jiang Yiming suppressed his anger and said.

“I suggested that he report to you or convene a Standing Committee meeting to discuss it, but he said that time was of the essence and that he should deal with it first and then report.”

"I understand. Call Liu Guangji immediately and tell him to remain calm and not to make any arrests without my orders."

Jiang Yiming immediately issued the order: "You allocate the police force and be ready to provide support at any time."

"receive."

Liang Yongguang then conveyed his message to Liu Guangji.

After Jiang Yiming hung up the phone, he received a call from Huang Shaohua.

"Secretary, is it convenient to talk on the phone? There's something I need to report to you."

After thinking about it, Huang Shaohua decided to report to Jiang Yiming.

If something goes wrong, he will report it to Jiang Yiming, and then everyone will share the responsibility. If he doesn't report it and Jiang Yiming is unaware of it, then he will have to take the responsibility for anything that happens.

"You mean the incident where people in Nangang Town surrounded and blocked the town government building?"

Jiang Yiming said sternly, "Comrade Huang Shaohua, I request that you immediately form a special team to go to Nangang Town to mediate the situation. You must control the development of the situation and not use police force unless absolutely necessary!"

"Secretary, I've already arranged for someone to handle it. Don't worry, I'll take care of it."

Huang Shaohua did not agree with Jiang Yiming's handling of the matter.

"Stop talking nonsense and immediately assemble a special team to go to Nangang Town. It would be best if you led the team yourself. You must control the situation. This is a very serious matter. If the conflict is escalated, it could cause a large number of casualties."

Jiang Yiming was furious. Even at this point, Huang Shaohua still hadn't realized the seriousness of the situation, so he stopped being polite.

"Jiang Yiming, you are the Party Secretary, that's true, but I am the County Head. Please be more polite in your speech."

Huang Shaohua was very unhappy to be reprimanded by someone who was more than ten years younger than him, so he retorted directly.

“County Chief Huang, I will not argue with you now. Please make sure to set up a special team to appease the villagers and bring the situation under control.”

Jiang Yiming suppressed his anger and spoke in as gentle a tone as possible.

"I see."

After hanging up the phone, Huang Shaohua thought for a moment and then arranged for Gao Zhenliang, the secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, to lead a coordination team composed of multiple departments, including the county government office, public security bureau, and petition bureau, to go to Nangang Town to conduct mediation.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yiming was worried that Huang Shaohua would not follow his orders, so he immediately called Xiang Yuanwu, the head of the Organization Department, to arrange for him to lead a team to Nangang Town for mediation.

Xiang Yuanwu reported to him that Huang Shaohua had arranged for Gao Zhenliang to go to Nangang Town to mediate.

Jiang Yiming finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He then personally called Liu Guangji.