Volume 1: Director of Public Security Chapter 50 Not a Dragon Crossing the River

  On Monday, Lu Zhong returned to the county bureau and called Ma Yuewu, Hou Jianjun, and Gao Zhikai to meet with him, mainly to discuss the annual work summary of the county bureau.

  Nowadays, the daily work of the county bureau is usually presided over by Ma Yuewu, but for major events, Lu Zheng still needs to come back and lead the overall situation.

  The draft of "Guangning County Public Security Bureau's Annual Work Summary" was drafted by the bureau office, and often it is some data-based but vague stuff.

  For example, the first item is the completion of the annual work indicators. It says: "Throughout the year, a total of 395 criminal cases were reported, with 320 solved and an overall solution rate of 81.0%. The number of cases decreased by 59% compared to the same period last year. Among them, there were 16 homicide cases, with 15 solved and a solution rate of 93.75%; the number of homicide cases decreased by 6.33% compared to the same period last year. There were 241 theft and robbery cases, with 211 solved and a solution rate of 87.6%, and the number of cases decreased by 39.4% compared to the same period last year..."

  These data, whether accurate or not, are actually of little help in measuring the excellence of a public security system's work over a year, but in any department, a summary of work must have some hard indicators for comparison, so it can only be done this way.

  Ma Yuewu and Hou Jianjun were browsing through the draft while discussing, actually, this was basically the final version, just going through the motions.

  Lu Zhong was a man of few words and wouldn't participate in discussions. Gao Zhi Kai also remained silent on the side.

  "I think we should add another indicator, correcting miscarriages of justice, that's also an achievement, right?" Hou Jianjun said suddenly.

  Ma Yuewu was taken aback for a moment, then glanced at Lu Zhong.

  The four people sitting in the house, no one had sand in their eyes, they all understood that Hou Jianjun's correction of wrongful cases referred to 516, referring to the case of Li Weijun handled by Gao Zhikai.

  Gao Zhi remained silent and did not speak.

  Lu Zhong tapped on the table and said: "Alright, Director Ma, Jianjun, Zhikai, you guys review it again and show me the final draft later."

  "Jianjun, wait a minute." Before Lu Zhong's words had fallen, the phone rang. He picked it up to find it was Peng Hongjun from the Discipline Inspection Commission.

  Lu Zhong smiled and said: "Secretary Peng, you're so idle?"

  On the other end of the phone, Peng Hongjun's tone was very low and serious, as if he had become a different person since his last visit to Lu Zhong's office. "Director Lu, it's like this: the case of Yao Baoming, the former deputy director of the Commercial Bureau, will be transferred to our Discipline Inspection Committee starting today. Probably about half an hour later, Wang Jianguo, the head of the first discipline inspection department, will come to take over. Director Lu, please arrange for a smooth handover, don't make any mistakes in the rush!"

  Lu Zhong hesitated for a moment: "Does Secretary Qiu know?"

  On the other end of the phone, Peng Hongjun seemed to chuckle slightly, giving an inexplicable feeling. "If Secretary Qiu didn't know about it, would I dare take liberties? It was already discussed at the secretary's meeting just now, and Secretary Qiu didn't object. As for the specific situation, you'll find out at this afternoon's Standing Committee meeting."

  Lu Zhong listened to Peng Hongjun's words and felt they were not on the same page, so he smiled and said: "Old Peng, I didn't mean it that way." From addressing him as "Secretary Peng" to "Old Peng", Lu Zhong wasn't trying to get closer to him, but rather, seemed less polite. Since answering the phone, Lu Zhong had felt that Peng Hongjun's attitude was off.

  "Director Lu, I won't say anything else. Oh, and by the way, I was going to borrow your car this week? But after thinking about it, I decided not to."

  Lu Zhong responded with a simple "uh-huh", and on the other end, Peng Hongjun hung up the phone.

  Hou Jianjun faintly heard the phone, which seemed to be Peng Hongjun's call, but pretended not to hear it. After seeing Lu Zhong finish his call, he stood up, handed a cigarette to Lu Zhong and helped him light it.

  Lu Zhong took two puffs, pondered and said: "The case of Yao Baoming should be handed over to the Discipline Inspection Commission for handling."

  Hou Jianjun was taken aback, saying: "Hand it over to the Discipline Inspection Commission? Peng Hongjun?" As he spoke, he laughed, "Just him, what case can he handle? What case would he dare to handle? He's timid like a rabbit!" But soon after seeing Lu Zhong's serious expression, Hou Jianjun's smile gradually faded from his face.

  "A cornered rabbit will still bite people, anyway, you arrange it properly, handle official business in an official manner, understand?" Lu Zhong specially reminded him.

  Hou Jianjun scratched his head, speechless. He had been suppressing the case all along because Lu Bureau didn't intend to close it, and he was worried that if they rushed to conclude the case, Ma Weiguo would gain power and settle accounts after autumn. Now that the gunpowder smoke has dispersed in Guangning's official circles, Qiu Secretary has become the big winner. He was just about to quickly wrap up the case in the next two days, but who would have thought that halfway through, the Discipline Inspection Commission suddenly took over, leaving everyone bewildered and unclear about what was going on.

  The afternoon's Standing Committee meeting was Lu Zhong's second county Party committee standing committee meeting after entering the Standing Committee.

  At the meeting, the first agenda was to study the spirit of the provincial discipline inspection commission's document. County Mayor Jiang Haiyan made an impromptu supplementary speech, believing that from now on, we should pay attention to the important function of the discipline inspection commission in supervising and punishing cadres, and promote the construction of cadres' work style and clean government, which is also the general trend.

  The cases involving party members and cadres that were originally handled by the County Public Security Bureau's Internal Protection Department should be supervised and led by the Discipline Inspection Commission. Cases of violation of the Party Constitution, internal regulations, administrative regulations, and laws by leaders and cadres of county departments, township organizations, government departments, and county committee-managed party members should all be independently investigated and handled by the County Discipline Inspection Commission. No leader or individual is allowed to interfere.

  County Deputy Secretary and Organization Department Minister Shang Ronghua, County Deputy Secretary and Discipline Inspection Commission Secretary Peng Hongjun successively made speeches expressing approval of Jiang Haiyan's views. Even the county's People's Armed Forces Department Minister Guo Jiang, an active military officer, spoke a few words, clearly and unequivocally expressing support for Jiang Haiyan.

  Minister of Propaganda Old Ding couldn't hide the surprise on his face, frequently glancing over at Lu Zhong, seemingly trying to figure out what was going on.

  Lu Zhong silently drank his tea.

  Without a doubt, in a short period of time, Jiang Haiyan was able to get two deputy secretaries and one standing committee member to stand on her side, this is simply the rhythm of undermining the county party secretary. This woman has come with ill intentions and is extremely formidable.

  More importantly, the people behind her played a crucial role in making a decisive difference, which made the Guangning government show signs of changing its ways.

  Secretary collided head meeting, Qiu Da and should be a sudden attack, until now, facial expression is not very good.

  Jiang Haiyan wants the Discipline Inspection Commission to investigate the Yao Baoming case. Perhaps she knows something, or perhaps her intention is not to use this case to bring down Ju Dahai, but at least it's a deterrent. And maybe the spearhead is pointing at herself, she must feel that this case has something to do with her, otherwise the case wouldn't have been suppressed again and again in the county bureau's anti-corruption department. Maybe she just wants to get rid of this Ju Dahai's pawn in her eyes.

  She occasionally glanced at herself with a look in her eyes, although there was no complacent expression, but obviously, she was showing off.

  Female cadres, after all, are still somewhat different from male cadres. This kind of love and hate is clear-cut, and it's probably because of the sensibility of women. In the unit or on the official career path, male colleagues and male cadres often think about putting each other to death, but on the surface, they mostly maintain a harmonious atmosphere.

  Lu Zhong's heart sank, and he couldn't help but scratch his head. He had just taken the first step into politics, and yet he was already being targeted by a powerful female cadre. It could be said that this was an inauspicious start to his career.

  Next, Jiang Haiyan showed her feminine side again and proposed that Cai Mingguo take the post of deputy director of the Planning Commission. She said: "I think some misunderstandings caused by personal conflicts should not be brought to work, let alone the Standing Committee! Some comrades are still not broad-minded enough!"

  Deputy Secretary and Minister of Organization Shang Ronghua continued to speak, talking about the organization's understanding of Cai Mingguo, believing that Cai Mingguo is fully capable of taking on the post of Deputy Director of the Planning Commission.

  Lu Zhong smiled bitterly, actually, many things don't need to be so stubborn, from where you fall down and get back up again. Many times, it's not suitable for the official scene, knowing how to advance and retreat is a sign of maturity. However, obviously, Jiang Haiyan has a deep background, in this small Guangning, there's no need to talk about strategy, just look at who doesn't please your eyes, really want to knock someone out with one stick.

  "I still disagree." In the silent meeting room, Lu Zhong's abrupt words made everyone's eyes focus on him.

  It's just Minister Ding of the Propaganda Department, who is now silent. Today's events are too bizarre, leaving him unclear about the depth of the water, so he can only remain temporarily silent.

  Lu Zhong didn't care, he was a bit annoyed in his heart, and then he got into another argument with someone, not believing that this Cai Mingguo could be brought up right under his nose.

  Lu Zhong looked at Jiang Haiyan without fear and said, "County Magistrate Haiyan, you've been in Guangning for only a month, right? I know you used to know Cai Mingguo, but how many times have you been in contact with him? People can change, this person says one thing and does another, honey on the lips and a sword in the belly!" In fact, such fierce criticism should not appear in a solemn occasion like the Standing Committee meeting, especially when discussing the promotion of fellow party members. Even Jiang Haiyan was left speechless by Lu Zhong's words, unable to utter a word for half a day.

  After all, she knew Lu Xiangtou's reputation, but had never experienced it personally.

  Lu Zhong continued: "Let me give you an example. A publicity draft for the county bureau's listing day was originally written quite well, but he had a lot of opinions and wanted to change it this way and that. In the end, our colleagues in the bureau office revised it according to his opinions, and when the city leaders reviewed it, they said it was empty and fake. And then he turned around and criticized our bureau's Comrade Xiao Wang, and we ended up taking all the blame. If I had been in Guangning at the time, I would have given him a piece of my mind - what kind of thing is this?!"

  The scene fell silent, and Lu Zhong's sentence "What thing?!" was truly astonishing.

  Jiang Haiyan was speechless for a long time, after a while, her face slightly flushed, she said: "Be careful with your words."

  Peng Hongjun frowned and said, "Lu Zhong, pay attention to your identity, look at what you're saying! Is this something a county party committee leader should say? It's really unprofessional!" He shook his head repeatedly.

  Lu Zhong turned his head to look at him, smiling and saying: "Old Peng, you're a typical two-faced person. Last week when you borrowed my car, you acted like a good boy, but now what's going on? Did your mother who fed you milk come back, so you don't recognize me anymore?"

  Peng Hongjun's old face immediately turned red, pointing at Lu Zhong and stuttering: "You, Lu Zhong, you...you're simply a rascal..." He suddenly stood up and left the meeting room in big strides. This loss of face was unbearable, he really couldn't stay any longer.

  Old Ding chimed in, "As for Cai Mingguo, I still agree with Lu Zhong's view." Old Ding was also a formidable figure. Lu Zhong had successfully stirred up trouble, and he immediately sensed the situation and pulled the topic back on track to avoid it being focused on his own bad attitude.

  Jiang Haiyan's chest heaved with rage, her eyes flashing with anger as she said, "Next, I think we should discuss the discipline of this meeting."

  Lu Zhong picked up his tea and drank it calmly, as if what had just happened had nothing to do with him.

  "Alright then, let's stop here for today. After all, it's democratic centralism, comrades can speak freely and express their opinions, which is a good thing."

  Jiang Haiyan took a deep breath and seemed to force herself to calm down, saying: "Let's vote on Cai Mingguo's appointment."

  At this time, County People's Armed Department Director Guo Jiang smiled and said: "Since this person is so controversial, let's be more cautious."

  Jiang Haiyan looked at him in surprise, and finally nodded slightly.

  It's really over now, after Ju Da and Xuan announced the dispersal of the meeting, everyone left the venue in an orderly manner.

  Guo Jiang quickly walked a few steps to Lu Zhong's side, his expression somewhat helpless, looking like he wanted to laugh. It seemed that he thought Lu Zhong was indeed the "king of troublemakers" in the meeting room, living up to his nickname "Lu Gang Tou, Huo Tu Fei". "Director Lu, you'd better communicate more with County Head Jiang," Guo Jiang whispered into Lu Zhong's ear.

  Guo Jiang had a good impression of Lu Zhong, this demobilized combat hero. When Lu Zhong was first demobilized, Guo Jiang took great care of him. Now he probably didn't want to see Lu Zhong and ended up making a big fuss for no reason.

  Qiu Dahe had no expression, and when he passed by Lu Zhong's side, he just patted Lu Zhong's shoulder lightly.