Official Career Storm
Chapter 264

Chapter 264: Chapter 264

Cai Zixiang was not secretive, sharing his understanding and knowledge of mainland politics with him like a teacher instructing a student.

"Guan Chao, first you have to understand one thing, the most important aspect of the system is ’power!’"

"But power is divided into nominal and actual power, direct control and delegated control."

"The larger the jurisdiction, the more dispersed the leader’s power becomes."

"Take Nanjiang Province, for example. The Provincial Committee Secretary is the top leader, but his power cannot realistically extend over an entire province. The top leader’s main role is personnel management; he can directly manage provincial-level officials, but he can hardly micromanage city-level officials."

Song Guanchao nodded; he understood all this.

What he didn’t understand was why Cai Zixiang was saying all this.

Seeing his confusion, Cai Zixiang continued, "As I said, power directly determines status and whether others respect and fear you."

"But what happens when a powerful leader steps back from the front lines?"

Song Guanchao said, "Out of sight, out of mind."

"Exactly, out of sight, out of mind," Cai Zixiang said. "The political arena is this brutally realistic: when you are in power, everyone fawns over you. Once you step down, no one remembers you."

"If this is the case even for those who step back to the second line, why would Secretary Tu and County Magistrate Hou give face to an old secretary who has been dead for years? Don’t you find that odd?"

Song Guanchao was taken aback; he had never thought of that.

Cai Zixiang went on to say, "The biggest advantage of a small county town compared to the province is the concentration of power."

"As long as the top leader is unwilling to delegate power, the county is his one-man show."

"Put yourself in the position of the County Party Secretary of Dujiang County; would you delegate power to a county magistrate promoted by your old leader’s archenemy?"

"Even if this Secretary Tu is stubborn and self-willed, he wouldn’t be foolish to that extent, right?"

Song Guanchao fell into deep thought; these details were easy to see, yet he had failed to notice them.

Cai Zixiang said, "Others have told you that County Magistrate Hou flatters Secretary Tu while secretly developing his own connections. This explanation is full of holes. I’m more inclined to believe that the power in Dujiang County was never concentrated in Secretary Tu’s hands from the start."

"And the claims of Secretary Tu’s old leader, Xu Hua, that the county magistrate is the top leader when he is in office, and the county party secretary is when he is, are nothing but rumors based on mistakes."

"In the earlier years of Dujiang County, the real top leader was only He Sen."

"He Sen..." Song Guanchao frowned: "Even if He Sen was the top hand, but after He Sen moved to the city, Xu Hua became the County Party Secretary."

"Are you suggesting that after He Sen left, Xu Hua could control Dujiang County?"

Cai Zixiang smiled. "Let me ask you, where did Xu Hua transfer to afterward?"

"To Tong City..."

"That’s it," Cai Zixiang said. "If Xu Hua was really that strong, capable of suppressing even He Sen, then why didn’t he take the opportunity to go to the more economically developed Lingjiang and instead went to the somewhat lagging Tong City?"

This statement suddenly cleared the doubts in Song Guanchao’s mind.

Yes, if Xu Hua was really as dominant as the rumors suggested, why wouldn’t he choose the better location and run off to the less developed Tong City instead?

It made no sense.

The only explanation for the past was that Xu Hua didn’t want to go to Lingjiang because He Sen was there.

Going to Lingjiang, he would continue to be suppressed by He Sen.

Seeing that he understood the key point, Cai Zixiang continued his analysis: "Therefore, the power in Dujiang County had been tightly held in He Sen’s hands from the very beginning."

Song Guanchao asked, "Then why would He Sen let Xu Hua come to the forefront?"

Since He Sen had absolute power, he could completely suppress the thorn that was Xu Hua, or even transfer him to the Qingshui Government.

"Balance," Cai Zixiang said. "In the art of politics, balance is always most important."

"If you were the City Secretary, would you rather see Dujiang County controlled by one person or the top two officials hamstringing each other?"

Song Guanchao suddenly understood and said, "You mean He Sen is deliberately creating the illusion that Xu Hua is the real power in Dujiang County to put the city leaders at ease?"

Cai Zixiang nodded.

Song Guanchao said, "Then County Magistrate Hou..."

"County Magistrate Hou is He Sen of years past, Secretary Tu is a replica of Xu Hua."

Cai Zixiang said, "If Secretary Tu really ran a one-man show, then why hasn’t County Magistrate Hou taken any of the numerous opportunities to transfer to the city over the years? It’s simple because he can’t bear to give up his absolute power in Dujiang County."

"But..."

He shifted his tone and continued, "This Secretary Tu is certainly not a simple character."

"He knows very well that he’s just a decorative figure County Magistrate Hou put in the front for the higher-ups to see."

"If he doesn’t obey, County Magistrate Hou can replace him with someone who will at any time."

"So, Secretary Tu smartly maintains this tough stance, willingly playing the puppet."

"Meanwhile, he has made big strides in economic development and has indeed made a name for himself, earning Dujiang County an upgrade to a Prefecture-level City."

"Along with Dujiang County’s transition from a county to a city, Secretary Tu also gained prominence, going from being constrained by County Magistrate Hou at the beginning, to now possessing the ability to stand toe-to-toe with him."

"Now in Dujiang County, there is a true separation of powers!"

"Having accomplished this much from within a tight space, put elsewhere, such a person would at least be the leader of a certain area."

"From this fact alone, you can see that Secretary Tu is very capable and politically astute, far from the rash and ill-advised figure some rumors suggest."

"If I’m not mistaken, the Provincial Committee has probably been paying attention to Secretary Tu for a while now, ready to cultivate him heavily. Dujiang County is the crucible for Secretary Tu."

Cai Zixiang’s analysis offered Song Guanchao an entirely new perspective.

These were things he had never considered before.

The same information led Cai Zixiang to a completely opposite conclusion.

For the first time, Song Guanchao realized that his understanding of politics was overly simplistic.

"What about Lu Xiaotian?" Song Guanchao asked. "Since the old Secretary has long passed away, why would County Magistrate Hou indulge Lu Xiaotian?"

Cai Zixiang suddenly laughed, "Do you think it was County Magistrate Hou who indulged him?"

Song Guanchao was confused.

Wasn’t it said that County Magistrate Hou is the one in charge?

If it was not County Magistrate Hou who was deliberately allowing it, then who could it be?

Could it possibly be Secretary Tu, the puppet?

Cai Zixiang said, "Lu Yijiang, He Sen, and this County Magistrate Hou, they are all from the same faction."

"After Lu Yijiang stepped down, He Sen took over the power. After He Sen stepped down, power was passed to County Magistrate Hou."

"He acts as the real power behind Dujiang, representing all the interests of this faction."

"And Lu Xiaotian is the frontman County Magistrate Hou has put in the spotlight."

"On the one hand, he uses Lu Xiaotian to amass wealth. On the other hand, he also uses Lu Xiaotian’s presence to knock Secretary Tu down a peg."

"But!"

Cai Zixiang paused, then said, "According to normal developments, the moment Dujiang County submitted the application to transition from a county to a city, what County Magistrate Hou should have done is keep a low profile! Let Lu Xiaotian disappear for a while, instead of continuing his arrogant and lawless behavior."

"But as you have seen, not only did Lu Xiaotian not lay low, but he also became more brazen, bringing the ways of the underworld right out into the open."

He smiled at Song Guanchao and asked, "What do you think is the reason for that?"

The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel