Official Career Storm
Chapter 221

Chapter 221: Chapter 221

Jiang Yuan was the Deputy Mayor, but within the municipal government, his word carried more weight than Mayor Zheng’s.

However, in the past two months, Mayor Zheng had become increasingly active, which put some pressure on him.

But no matter what, both of them were in the municipal government, constantly in each other’s presence.

He knew why Mayor Zheng was becoming more active.

To be honest, if it were a bit earlier, he would have supported Wu Qiangwei today.

But now, he supported Mayor Zheng.

Because Mayor Zheng had changed.

He was no longer the pushover he once was.

He was fighting for his political future, making a last stand.

Jiang Yuan had climbed up the ranks step by step locally, with his influence rooted in the area.

For him, the lure of moving to the provincial level wasn’t that strong.

He preferred to maintain his current lifestyle on his "three-acre plot."

Unless absolutely necessary, he also didn’t want to become archenemies with Mayor Zheng.

Therefore, he didn’t mind giving Mayor Zheng some face.

As long as it didn’t affect his own interests, allowing Mayor Zheng to experience some of the mayoral powers wasn’t unacceptable.

Five votes.

The personnel recommendation for the bureau director was tentatively set.

All that was left was to report the appointment to the People’s Congress for election, and it would be approved.

The organizational procedure was also compliant; Feng Hongtao’s candidacy was basically confirmed.

The attendees all had different thoughts.

Many were wondering what was going on between Secretary Wu and Secretary Lu.

Their relationship appeared to be rather poor.

Generally, the tune of the Standing Committee meeting followed the lead of the top official.

No matter what disputes occurred behind the scenes, everyone appeared calm and collected during the meetings.

Especially concerning personnel appointments, these were typically decided in advance.

If arguments broke out in the Standing Committee meeting, it usually meant the city was in a state of turmoil.

Today’s meeting was relatively calm, but it was clear to the discerning eye that Secretary Lu was suppressing Secretary Wu.

In addition, Mayor Zheng, who usually didn’t stand out much, was also starting to emerge as a prominent figure.

It gave the impression that these two overshadowed leaders, the first and second in command, were gearing up for a confrontation.

The astute had already analyzed the reasons.

All these changes had occurred after Wu Qiangwei arrived in Lingjiang.

Before her arrival, both Secretary Lu and Mayor Zheng had been extremely low-profile, to the point of irritation.

Her arrival broke the status quo, giving both men an opportunity.

The next agenda item was Wu Qiangwei’s proposal to establish a guidance and supervision group to inspect Lingjiang’s business environment.

The meeting adjourned.

Song Guanchao saw Wu Qiangwei leave with an expressionless face and silently followed her.

On the other side, Mayor Zheng, in high spirits, headed to the cafeteria with several members of the Standing Committee.

Minister Su from the Publicity Department lingered behind; the Standing Committee member from the Military District did not join them for a meal but left directly.

Within the City Committee, the Standing Committee member from the Military District was usually an invisible presence, with opinions that didn’t seem to matter much; they rarely took sides and were relatively independent.

However, once they voiced their opinions, it indicated a major issue had arisen.

And then, all the Standing Committee members needed to cooperate fully.

After all, the Military District had the military behind it.

"Minister Su, Secretary Wu, and Secretary Lu seem to have a difference of opinion?"

Minister Qian Dong from the United Front Department, walking alongside Minister Su at the back, casually asked.

Minister Su shook his head, "Not too sure."

"Heh."

Seeing he wasn’t talking, Qian Dong chuckled and didn’t press further.

...

On the way to the cafeteria, Director Qin and Minister Zhou walked side by side: "Our Mayor Zheng has been quite active lately."

Minister Zhou smiled, saying nothing.

Director Qin said, "Mayor Zheng seems to have some opinions about Secretary Wu, and so does Secretary Lu; this might actually be a good thing."

Although the director of the sub-bureau wasn’t his man, he also wasn’t Wu Qiangwei’s man.

To him, this was an acceptable outcome.

"But what’s the deal with Chu Xiao’e?"

Director Qin wondered aloud, "Isn’t she quite close to Secretary Wu?"

Minister Zhou said, "You should look into this Feng Hongtao."

"What about him?"

"Check his relationship with Chu Xiao’e."

"What kind of relationship could they have?"

Director Qin was taken aback, "Isn’t this the person recommended by Secretary Lu?"

Minister Zhou said, "As you said, Chu Xiao’e is close to Secretary Wu, and Secretary Lu has had conflicts with Secretary Wu before. But you saw it in today’s meeting, Chu Xiao’e clearly stood on Secretary Lu’s side."

Director Qin got the point, "Are you saying that Feng Hongtao is Chu Xiao’e’s person? Is Secretary Lu wooing Chu Xiao’e?"

"We can only say there’s a possibility. Go and investigate, and report back to me after."

The Executive Committee meeting today gave Minister Zhou an odd feeling.

He always felt that Secretary Lu was a bit too targeted against Wu Qiangwei.

He could understand why Mayor Zheng was irked, after all, Hui Po Company indeed had some impact on him.

And his reaction was very restrained, showing his position and bottom line without overstepping.

Yet Secretary Lu’s approach seemed a tad excessive.

Even if Secretary Lu wanted to advance further, where did he get the confidence to openly suppress Wu Qiangwei at the Executive Committee meeting?

Minister Zhou even suspected that Secretary Lu and Wu Qiangwei were putting on an act.

But he had no evidence.

...

In the office, Song Guanchao opened each lunch box.

"Secretary, it’s time to eat."

"Mhm."

Song Guanchao also sat down and picked up his chopsticks.

Wu Qiangwei ate slowly, seemingly pondering things over, and Song Guanchao waited quietly for her to speak.

"I’ve nominated you as the head of the guidance group, with Secretary Sun and Li Jun as deputy heads."

"Mhm." This had already been decided.

Song Guanchao asked, "Secretary, has Secretary Lu nominated Feng Hongtao?"

"He has, everything is going according to plan."

Song Guanchao felt a slight relief.

Just as Minister Zhou guessed, this was indeed a performance by the two.

No one knew about the relationship between Feng Hongtao and Chu Xiao’e, but as clever as Minister Zhou was, he would surely speculate in that direction.

Because Chu Xiao’e’s behavior today was too out of the ordinary.

This was also what Song Guanchao intentionally led him to.

To make him investigate.

Once he understood the relationship between Feng Hongtao and Chu Xiao’e, he would no longer suspect that Secretary Lu and Wu Qiangwei were acting.

These Committee members were all shrewd; deceiving them was no easy task.

The reason Song Guanchao wanted Wu Qiangwei to show a lack of harmony with Secretary Lu, and that slight conflict with Mayor Zheng, was to maintain a balance amongst the leading members of the Committee.

In any city leadership, the ideal situation is for the top leader to wield absolute power.

But this rule doesn’t work in Lingjiang.

Even if Wu Qiangwei could temporarily grasp the power of Secretary Lu and Mayor Zheng, in Song Guanchao’s view, there was no need to do so.

Since the two of them already had little power, rash integration would be of no benefit.

Better to throw the two out as bait to attract attention.

Thus leading outsiders to believe that the City Committee’s power was divided.

This state was most suitable for Wu Qiangwei.

Of course, there are risks to this strategy.

It could easily let Secretary Lu and Mayor Zheng regain power.

Therefore, how finely one should control this balance required very precise manipulation.

"Mayor Zheng is getting a bit out of control," Wu Qiangwei suddenly said.

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