Chapter 1914

Chapter 1914: Chapter 1914

Wu Qiangwei believed that Song Guanchao’s recommendation of Fu Ying contained no personal feelings, and that he genuinely felt Fu Ying replacing Chang Youcai as Vice Mayor would be the best option for her.

If possible, Wu Qiangwei also wanted to promote Fu Ying.

But after careful thought, she still decided to give up.

She had no choice.

After all, Jiangzhou was not her Jiangzhou alone.

She had to take other leaders into account.

The essence of officialdom is the exchange of interests, a subtle balance in which you are part of me and I am part of you.

She certainly could promote Fu Ying and replace all the Vice Mayors with her own people.

But doing so would invisibly offend more people.

Officialdom is the most typical "when one man rises to the Way, his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven"; every leader wants to grow his own following.

If she blocked off the City Government as a channel, everyone would know that she, Wu Qiangwei, was a glutton who only took in and never let out.

Even if they became her allies, they still wouldn’t be able to gain benefits from her hand.

Unless one day she could truly become the No.1 leader in Jiangzhou, concentrating all power in her hands, a figure whose word was absolute.

As long as she hadn’t reached that point, she could not turn the City Government into an impregnable fortress where not even water could seep in.

Leaving aside that, for now, Wu Qiangwei had yet to achieve the kind of dictatorship where one word carries the weight of nine tripods, even if she really had that chance, she wouldn’t do it.

Countless historical cases prove that dictators never come to a good end.

Only by having plenty of friends and positioning herself within a community of shared interests can she move with ease in all directions.

It was precisely because she understood this principle that Wu Qiangwei decided to give up this opportunity and hand it over.

Once she made up her mind, Wu Qiangwei dialed the number of Organization Minister Wang Jinming.

"Minister Wang, there’s something here I’d like to hear your opinion on. If you have time, let’s sit down and talk. Okay, then come over now."

Among the Standing Committee members, she and Wang Jinming had already reached a preliminary consensus, established a basic friendship, and carried out several exchanges of interests.

He was also the Organization Minister; having him recommend the Vice Mayor candidate, in terms of both sentiment and reason, was the most appropriate arrangement.

After about twenty minutes, Wang Jinming arrived at the City Government.

Wu Qiangwei told him about the museum artifacts being swapped, and also explained to him the progress of the case.

Listening, Wang Jinming was startled; this matter had erupted too suddenly, and he hadn’t heard a single whisper of it beforehand.

A faint turbulence rippled in his heart, and he felt a few more degrees of wariness toward Wu Qiangwei.

The swapping of museum artifacts, with leaders at the level of a Vice Mayor and the Director of the Cultural Relics Bureau involved, constituted a very serious violation of discipline and regulations.

For a major case like this, even if they feared alerting the targets, they would still have to brief and consult with the key leaders in the city.

The Organization Minister ranked high among the Standing Committee members, yet only now did he learn of the matter.

"The public security apparatus has become a weapon in her hand." Wang Jinming cautioned himself.

"Secretary Zhou will probably make a phone report to the province this afternoon, and the arrests should also happen in the afternoon."

After finishing the preliminary context, Wu Qiangwei moved to the main point: "We don’t yet know what opinion the province will give, but removal from office is inevitable. Minister Wang, you’re the Organization Minister, in charge of personnel, and you know the comrades in the city better. On the Vice Mayor side, do you have any suitable candidates to recommend?"

A soft "hmm" sounded in Wang Jinming’s heart—was she about to hand the Vice Mayor post to him?

Was this a probe?

Or was it a transfer of benefits, to bind him completely to her?

After a brief pause for thought, Wang Jinming said, "Let’s wait until the case is broken, then talk about this."

He didn’t immediately accept this favor; he would first wait for the matter to come to a stage conclusion, and use the interval to observe the situation in the city, then make a decision.

Wu Qiangwei nodded lightly; she didn’t care whether Wang Jinming made the recommendation now or later.

All she needed was for Wang Jinming to feel her sincerity.

Once that objective was achieved, it was enough.

"When I talked with Mayor Zhou, he seemed to be in a bad mood."

As if making small talk, Wu Qiangwei asked, "Do those involved leaders have a close relationship with him?"

Wang Jinming knew exactly what she wanted to ask. He was a veteran Standing Committee member; while he might not have mastered every detail of Jiangzhou’s tangled web of relationships, he had a fairly solid grasp.

He thought for two seconds, then shook his head and said, "Director Su is not one of his people, and Chang Youcai doesn’t really count as his either."

Wu Qiangwei was somewhat surprised; this answer was beyond her expectations.

Since the involved leaders had little connection with him, why had he behaved like that on the phone?

Suddenly, Wang Jinming asked, "Mayor Wu just said that an auction house is also involved?"

"Yes..." Wu Qiangwei nodded, then abruptly paused; she understood the hint in Wang Jinming’s question.

He suspected that the auction house had entanglements with Zhou Zheng.

Wang Jinming stopped there, took a sip of tea, and then excused himself to leave.

After some thought, Wu Qiangwei still called Liang Jianfeng and asked him to investigate whether there was any relationship between the auction house involved in the case and Zhou Zheng.

On the other side.

Zhou Zheng left a company, grabbed a casual bite with Zheng Ting to fill their stomachs, and then returned to the hotel.

Zheng Ting could tell that Secretary Zhou was in a bad mood; it seemed to have started right after he finished his call with Mayor Wu.

She was a bit curious about what Mayor Wu had said on the phone that could cause such obvious emotional fluctuation in Secretary Zhou, who rarely let anger or joy show on his face.

In the room, Zhou Zheng sat smoking, his expression dark.

His anger was not for the reason Wu Qiangwei had guessed—that those involved were connected to him.

It was about the case itself.

In the past, whether it was Gaoshui County or Lishan County, if something happened and Wu Qiangwei went to handle it, he didn’t really care.

Even if Wu Qiangwei failed to brief him in advance, at most he would be displeased.

But this time was different.

This case had erupted right in Jiangzhou.

And it involved officials at the level of a Vice Mayor and Bureau Directors.

Yet as the Secretary, he was the last to learn of it.

Wu Qiangwei’s actions were a sign of disrespect toward him and, even more, a provocation to his authority as City Secretary.

With a draft already sketched in his mind, Zhou Zheng stubbed out his cigarette and dialed the number of Secretary Gao’s secretary, Xiang Yang.

"Hello, Secretary Xiang, does Secretary Gao have time now?"

"Secretary Gao is taking his noon break. Is the work Secretary Zhou needs to report urgent? If it’s not crucial, you can tell me and I’ll pass it on this afternoon."

Xiang Yang followed his lead.

If this were truly some urgent matter, he would have called Secretary Gao directly; why go through him?

The fact that he called Xiang Yang meant that he didn’t want to report directly to Secretary Gao, but specifically needed to report through him.

To serve as secretary to the Provincial Committee’s Secretary, one had to understand the real subtext hidden in people’s words.

As expected, he heard Zhou Zheng say, "Then I’ll trouble Secretary Xiang to pass it on for me."

Xiang Yang smiled and murmured assent, and Zhou Zheng said, "I’m on a business trip out of town, busy with investment promotion. I received a call from the city and learned that Mayor Wu plans to carry out arrests of Vice Mayor Chang Youcai, several directors from the Cultural Relics Bureau, and a few retired leaders."

Xiang Yang’s smile vanished, and his tone turned grave: "Is there solid evidence?"

"Yes."

"Good, I understand."

After hanging up, a cold gleam flashed in Zhou Zheng’s eyes.

What he had just said was crafted with great care.

He first stated that he was away on official business, then said he had received a call from "the city," rather than from Wu Qiangwei.

Finally, he emphasized that by the time he learned of it, the city was already preparing to make the arrests.

What he truly wanted to convey was that Wu Qiangwei had failed to brief him in advance, had taken it upon herself to launch an investigation into key leaders in the city.

Only once things had reached a certain stage did she give him and Secretary Gao something like a notification in the guise of a report.

This so-called report call was in fact a veiled complaint about his dissatisfaction with Wu Qiangwei.

Xiang Yang would certainly catch the nuance, and he would certainly relay it to Secretary Gao.

But Zhou Zheng also knew that Wu Qiangwei was brought up by Secretary Gao; at most Secretary Gao would make a show of things, offer a few words of criticism over the phone, but it wouldn’t have any substantive impact.

Yet what else could he do?

At this stage, the only thing he could do was express his displeasure in this roundabout way.