Official Career Storm
Chapter 484

Chapter 484: Chapter 484

"They’re going to make a move on us soon?"

Both were startled, unsure where Song Guanchao had drawn his conclusion from.

Zhang Meilin suppressed the urge to ask, but Fu Ying had fewer reservations and directly asked, "Why do you say that?"

Song Guanchao said, "Let me ask you, if you were Hou Wen’s confidant, and Hou Wen fell from power and a new Secretary took over, what would you do?"

Fu Ying answered, "I would try to curry favor with Secretary Zhang and get close to him."

Song Guanchao smiled, "That’s right."

Both were initially stunned, then showed looks of sudden realization.

They understood!

Just like Fu Ying said, to curry favor and get close was the normal choice.

But since their appointment, a week had already passed.

Up to now, not a single leader in the city had taken the initiative to talk to them, let alone show any goodwill.

Song Guanchao said, "They have not come close to you, which means they have already formed their clique privately."

"And they will find a way to sideline you and Brother Zhang."

"Why?" Fu Ying didn’t understand, "Why would they do that?"

Not only she didn’t understand; Zhang Meilin couldn’t either.

Hou Wen had fallen, yet at this time they were not aligning themselves but instead forming cliques in private.

That was not the choice of a sane person.

Have they all gone stupid?

"What else can it be, because neither of you two has a strong backing," Song Guanchao said, taking out a cigarette and smiling.

Fu Ying said, "I have Secretary Wu backing me, and Secretary Zhang has Minister Zhou behind him, how..."

Song Guanchao interrupted her, "You came into office as an acting mayor after Brother Zhang took office. You are not yet the confirmed Mayor of Dujiang City; the prefix ’acting’ has not yet been removed."

"In their eyes, you were promoted by Brother Zhang, and the reason he promoted you is that you are clean enough."

"They don’t know that Secretary Wu backs you."

That reminder made Fu Ying realize something.

Yes, since she had never mentioned it, those people really wouldn’t know.

"But Secretary Zhang has Minister Zhou behind him."

Song Guanchao shook his head again, "Minister Zhou has exhausted many connections lately for his son and is significantly weakened. In their eyes, Minister Zhou is no different from a leader who has stepped back from the front line. Moreover, as the head of the organization department, he can’t interfere much in government affairs, so his deterrence is limited."

"The most crucial point is that the timing of Brother Zhang’s appointment has given them a cognitive illusion."

"What do you mean?" Fu Ying was a bit lost following Song Guanchao’s thought process.

Zhang Meilin listened carefully on the side.

Song Guanchao took out a lighter and just as he was about to light up, Fu Ying said, "Secretary Zhang is still here, don’t smoke."

Song Guanchao smiled sheepishly and put the cigarette down.

Zhang Meilin, however, glanced at both of them.

There was something off about these two.

Song Guanchao said, "Brother Zhang took office in the midst of Hou Wen’s scandal, and even promised that if he couldn’t retrieve the embezzled funds, he would resign."

"To the leaders above, this shows responsibility."

"But to them, it shows he has no backing."

"If Brother Zhang had taken office in a usual manner, by now they would have already started declaring their loyalty."

Listening to his analysis, both quietly nodded, seemingly agreeing that it made sense.

Fu Ying said, "You just mentioned, they are going to act soon? Why?"

Song Guanchao answered, "It’s quite simple."

"First, in their eyes, neither of you poses a great threat since you have no strong backers."

"Second, before Tu Zhaorui was transferred, Hou Wen had probably already designated someone to succeed as the City Secretary."

"Brother Zhang’s arrival actually took the position that was supposed to belong to that person."

"Think about it—now that this person is sure that Hou Wen’s downfall won’t affect him and knowing you two lack backing, what would he do?"

Fu Ying blurted out, "He would sideline Secretary Zhang!"

"Yes," Song Guanchao nodded, "but they won’t openly undermine you."

"If I’m not wrong, they’ll have two choices."

"First, they’ll try to win you over. If you are wise and accept their offer to join their clique, then all will be well."

"Once you join the clique, you will find out who really holds the power; they will need you to be loyal to this leader. Even though you might be the head on the surface, once you join the clique, you must also show loyalty to him. If you dare defy, you will find yourself in the awkward situation where your orders won’t get past the City Committee."

"Second, if you do not accept their overture, they will set you up. Once you’re caught in their trap, you will truly become their puppet. At that point, you’ll have to do whatever they tell you."

Zhang Meilin felt a chill in his heart, a cold sweat breaking out on his back.

Fu Ying asked, "So what should we do now?"

"It’s simple," Song Guanchao replied, "just break the setup."

"How do we break it?" This time, Zhang Meilin was the one who spoke.

"Brother Zhang, don’t worry. They will first try to win you over. Once they see that you don’t take the bait, they’ll make a move. If they try to win you over, just pretend to agree..."

"They’ve already tried."

"They have?" Song Guanchao was somewhat surprised.

Zhang Meilin grimaced, telling him that Lu Xiaotian’s grandmother had already approached him.

"Using Lu Xiaotian’s grandmother? That indeed is the most appropriate choice."

Song Guanchao stroked his chin and said, "Since you’ve refused, their next step will be to set you up."

"Let me think."

He held a cigarette in contemplation.

Click.

Zhang Meilin handed over a lighter, Song Guanchao looked at Fu Ying; Fu Ying said, "Go ahead."

Song Guanchao chuckled and leaned in to light it.

After taking a couple of puffs, he said, "The most important thing right now is to place a mole."

Zhang Meilin shook his head, "Placing a mole, easier said than done."

"If Dujiang City is really as you described, it would be impenetrable."

"No need for that; just flip someone," Song Guanchao replied.

"Flip someone?" Zhang Meilin thought for a moment and said, "We need to pick the right person."

"It’s not that complicated. Brother Zhang, call Tu Zhaorui directly and ask him which leaders in all the bureaus of Dujiang City are not on his list."

"Whomever is not on the list, we flip them."

Zhang Meilin immediately grasped his meaning and made the call.

"Mayor Tu, hope I’m not disturbing you?"

After exchanging pleasantries and explaining the purpose of his call, a few minutes later, he hung up, Zhang Meilin said, "Vice Mayor Chang Chuan, Minister Cheng of Organization Department..."

He listed several names in succession.

Fu Ying said, "Chang Chuan takes care of education. Minister Cheng has always been isolated..."

Song Guanchao pondered these names for a while and asked, "Do Chang Chuan and Chen Guanyun, Yang Qingquan hang out usually?"

Fu Ying thought for a few seconds, "Pretty close. I heard many of the city leaders’ children are managed by Chang Chuan."

"Let’s go with him."

Song Guanchao said, "Brother Zhang, call Tu Zhaorui again. Ask him to send over the evidence of Chang Chuan’s wrongdoing."

Zhang Meilin puzzled, "Chang Chuan isn’t on the list; what evidence could there be?"

Song Guanchao smiled and said, "You think there’s no evidence just because he’s not on the list? Our Mayor Tu isn’t exactly a saint. Do you think he controls Dujiang City just because of his father-in-law, who is a member of the Provincial Committee? Without some iron-fisted methods, could he have thrived in Dujiang City?"

Zhang Meilin was still unsure but made the call.

When he made this request, Tu Zhaorui was silent for a few seconds before finally asking, "Is Song Guanchao asking for this?"

Zhang Meilin suddenly didn’t quite know what to say.

Judging by his tone, did he indeed have evidence of Chang Chuan’s wrongdoing?

The critical part was, how did he guess it was Song Guanchao who wanted it?

"Yes."

"I understand."

After hanging up, it wasn’t two minutes later that a string of messages came from an unfamiliar number.

Zhang Meilin said, "It’s been sent."

Song Guanchao grunted and said, "Brother Zhang, contact Chang Chuan, tell him to come over directly."

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