Nominal: The pinnacle of power began in the sixth province of Handong.

After Qi Tongwei left, Xia Qing returned to her office.

He was confident that after this, Qi Tongwei would be completely devoted to him.

Taking control of the public security forces is absolutely the most important step.

Any high-ranking official in charge of a region, or a standing committee member who has influence in the province.

No one doesn't want to control the police force.

In Xia Qing's view, Sha Ruijin made a very basic mistake in this regard.

Perhaps they were newcomers and wanted to establish their authority, or perhaps they misjudged the situation.

Sha Ruijin actually froze Qi Tongwei's promotion to vice-provincial level.

Xia Qing knew that Sha Ruijin was worried that mentioning Qi Tongwei would actually strengthen Gao Yuliang's power.

But actually, there's no need for that.

First of all, Qi Tongwei is grateful. He initially thought of taking the initiative to get closer to Sha Ruijin, which can be seen from the fact that he went to hoe the ground for Chen Yanshi.

Secondly, Gao Yuliang's conversion to non-agricultural status is a foregone conclusion, it's just a matter of this year or next.

Sha Ruijin, you first paint a rosy picture for Qi Tongwei, then once Gao Yuliang retires, immediately promote Qi Tongwei. Who do you think Qi Tongwei will side with? Who will he be grateful to?

There's no need to rush to freeze Qi Tongwei, giving others the impression that there's no chance left and creating a tense atmosphere.

As a result, Sha Ruijin failed to control the Provincial Public Security Department and had to rely on the resources of the Jingzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau.

In terms of influence, it's far behind.

In the end, Xia Qing felt that Sha Ruijin still didn't have enough energy.

Sha Ruijin labeled Qi Tongwei as a member of the Zhao family, fearing he wouldn't be able to subdue him.

But Xia Qing did not have this concern.

He has absolute confidence that if he lets you take the job, you will succeed.

If you insist on sticking with the Zhao family and not disembarking, they can either promote you or demote you!

As Xia Qing pondered this, she returned to her office.

He picked up the secure red phone and gave a report to Sha Ruijin.

Sha Ruijin also felt that the existence of foreign forces and intermediary organizations mentioned by Xia Qing was of great importance. He urged Xia Qing to do his best to investigate and then hurriedly hung up the phone.

Xia Qing could tell that Sha Ruijin's tone was very anxious.

This is normal; Sha Ruijin is launching an offensive against the Zhao family, and it's happening simultaneously from several directions.

However, the results were not significant.

According to a report from the Organization Department of the Luzhou Municipal Party Committee, it seems that the demolition of the food court will be postponed again.

On the anti-corruption bureau side, Chen Hai also left his men behind. The intelligence they received indicated that Hou Liangping was already locked in a fierce battle with Chen Qingquan and the Political and Legal Affairs Commission.

They refused to release him and insisted on finding out Chen Qingquan's relationship with the Shanshui Group.

At the same time, Xia Qing also received intelligence that the anti-corruption bureau's investigation into the oil and gas group was still only on the periphery and had not found any conclusive evidence against Liu Xinjian.

It seems like things haven't gone smoothly for either of us...

No wonder Sha Ruijin was even more anxious.

However, in Xia Qing's view, Hou Liangping's behavior was purely asking for trouble.

When the Jingzhou Public Security Bureau sent Chen Qingquan to them, Hou Liangping dared to accept him and even detained him for interrogation.

Let's hope there's no more public reprimands or even admonitory talks.

As for the food court...

Xia Qing guessed that the Zhao family was buying time to prepare some small moves.

It's unacceptable that when Sha Ruijin arrives, Yi Xuexi can only talk about demolishing the food court, and then it's actually demolished.

The message to the outside world was that the Zhao family had declined and was powerless to resist Sha Ruijin's offensive.

As a result, the people on Zhao's boats in Handong will waver and may even scatter and flee.

Zhao Lichun certainly didn't want to see Handong, which he had built up over so long, so easily dismantled by Sha Ruijin.

After a moment's thought, Xia Qing decided to wait and see for the time being.

There's no need for me to get involved in the duel between the Zhao family and Sha Ruijin.

First, stabilize the situation in Handong, then gradually develop manpower and secure key positions.

This is what an organization minister should do.

Thinking about this, Xia Qing suddenly realized that, besides himself, the three cadres who were parachuted in were a discipline inspection commission member, a procuratorate member, and a provincial party secretary who was good at political struggles and power plays.

These three people are so alike, they're practically in sync.

In comparison, I, the organization minister, am truly a breath of fresh air!

Just as I was thinking, Lei Yu came over to report:

"Minister, as per your instructions, we conducted a preliminary investigation into Comrade Yi Xuexi's personal background and discovered..."

Xia Qing gestured for Lei Yu to continue, and Lei Yu then said:

"His family owns a villa gifted by Dalu Group, located in the best residential area in Jingzhou City, currently registered under his wife Mao Ya's name. Furthermore, our investigation revealed that the tea plantation his wife contracted exceeded the permitted contracted area. Finally, the tea is sold through direct sales and on-site negotiation, for example..."

"Take a pound of tea, for example. For tea connoisseurs, depending on the type, it can sell for anywhere from double digits to five figures. Mao Ya, as a rural woman, grows and processes her own tea, which isn't high-end, yet she sells it at a high price. Some business owners or officials are even willing to pay higher prices for her tea, claiming it's their voluntary offer," Xia Qing calmly continued, picking up where Lei Yu left off.

"Yes and no?"

Lei Yu was already covered in sweat, and whispered:

"Exactly the same."

Xia Qing stood up, signaling Lei Yu not to worry, and said:

"Are you worried that you didn't discover these problems when you led the team to investigate him last time, allowing him to be promoted despite his flaws?"

Lei Yu nodded heavily and said:

"Yes."

Xia Qing laughed out loud, patted Lei Yu on the shoulder, and said:

"I asked you to lead the team for an inspection, but that was just an inspection. I didn't say anything good or bad, and I didn't express any opinion. Besides, his promotion was facilitated by Secretary Sha. We only played a part in it."

After saying that, Xia Qing saw that Lei Yu was still worried, so she simply told him the truth:

"Alright, to tell you the truth, I already had the personnel department prepare two sets of evaluation materials, one saying good things and the other saying bad things... I don't need to go into details, do I?"

Upon hearing Xia Qing's words, Lei Yu, who had been filled with worry, suddenly felt relieved!

He couldn't help but admire Xia Qing's wisdom, his eyes shining as he said:

"Minister, that's amazing!"

"Alright, alright, Yi Xuexi is, in a sense, Secretary Sha's favorite, so we don't need to bring it up for now." Xia Qing paused, then added:

"But you must write down the information you just gathered and store it in the ministry's archives for future reference."

Lei Yu was completely impressed. He knew that Minister Xia's statement about being able to use it at any time was a tight rein on Yi Xuexi!

If all goes well, it would be equivalent to placing one of our own people next to Sha Ruijin!

Is this Minister Xia's method?

Plan ahead and prepare for the worst.

That's amazing, absolutely amazing.

Lei Yu increasingly felt that working with Minister Xia was a promising career path!

Xia Qing, however, had other considerations.

The information from the Organization Department regarding Luzhou is far too limited.

If we could assign another person to an important position...

Thinking of this, Xia Qing said to Lei Yu:

"I remember, a deputy director of the Land and Resources Bureau in Luzhou City just retired? We happen to have a cadre in our department who knows about this, I think he was selected a couple of years ago?"

Lei Yu recalled for a moment, then nodded and said:

"Yes, we're preparing to promote him to deputy director level. What does the minister intend to do?"

Xia Qing made the decision:

"Ask him if he'd be willing to go to the city for a while, and then go back to the ministry to get a full-fledged division chief position."

Without hesitation, Lei Yu gave a thumbs up:

"I say, Minister, your insight is brilliant!"