Absolute power in officialdom

Chapter 109 The officialdom is like a battlefield, every step is fraught with danger.

Zhuge Qingyun nodded and said, "Yes, crisis is crisis, but there is opportunity in crisis. At that time, we can legitimately report to Secretary Jiang that Xu Youwei is incompetent and uses inappropriate methods in handling major sensitive events, which has led to the escalation of conflicts and even seriously affected the image and stability of Longcheng."

"Secretary Jiang, newly appointed, needs to establish his authority and maintain stability. Faced with such a serious situation and public pressure, adjusting the Longcheng leadership and removing Xu Youwei is a natural progression. We are here to relieve Secretary Jiang's burden and eliminate destabilizing factors."

After listening, Ai Kun smiled with satisfaction: "Qingyun, everyone says you are 'Little Zhuge Liang,' and you truly live up to the name!"

This plan was meticulously crafted, eliminating a major threat, demonstrating our responsibility and competence to Secretary Jiang, and most importantly, making it appear as if everything was a consequence of Xu You's incompetence, leaving us only with no choice but to clean up the mess.

"Okay! We'll do it your way! You can mobilize the manpower and resources as you see fit, but make sure everything goes smoothly and leaves no room for us to be implicated."

"Mayor Ai, rest assured, I know what's important and I will handle it cleanly and efficiently. Once Xu Youwei is dismissed and transferred, you will naturally take over as the Party Secretary of the Municipal Committee."

Ai Kun patted Zhuge Qingyun on the shoulder: "At that time, you will naturally become the director of the Municipal Party Committee Office, and after the New Year, I will recommend you for promotion to deputy director level."

……

Wu Zhiyuan reported to Xu Youwei: "Secretary Xu, there are some rumors circulating in the community and online recently, which are detrimental to you and also to the follow-up handling of the Yinnong Cooperative's financial crisis."

Wu Zhiyuan presented Xu Youwei with a printed list of online posts.

The title of the first post is: "Party Secretary Xu Youwei is about to leave, what will happen to our hard-earned money?"

The post said: "This inside information is absolutely reliable! Xu Youwei won't be staying in Longcheng for long; he'll be promoted and transferred soon."

Why was he in such a hurry to arrest Peng Dafu? It was to cover his tracks, fearing that depositors' petitions and disturbances would affect his promotion. All those previous promises were just delaying tactics.

He never genuinely intended to help us ordinary people recover our money. Once he left, our money was completely lost. Wake up, everyone! We can't just wait foolishly anymore!

The title of the second post is: Beware! A new round of stability maintenance tactics is coming, which is to suppress our rights protection.

The post said: According to reliable sources, the municipal party committee has required all streets and communities to strengthen the management and control of key personnel, which, to put it bluntly, means to keep a close eye on us debt collectors.

Instead of trying to solve the problem, they only want to suppress us, fearing that our disturbances will affect social stability and their future.

This is pushing us to our deaths! We cannot give in; we must unite and demand justice!

The title of the third post is outrageous: Cold-blooded! The secretary's official residence is filled with singing and dancing, while the victimized people are in tears.

The title of the fourth post was even more sensational: Exposing Xu Youwei's true colors! He is the real protector behind Peng Dafu, the boss of Yinnong Cooperative!

Xu Youwei read through the pages one by one, his face grim and his brows furrowed.

These posts were malicious, not only distorting the facts and portraying him as a bureaucrat who disregarded people's livelihoods, cared only about his own career, and might even have shielded criminals, but more insidiously, they precisely directed public anger and discontent toward him personally, planting the fuse for a possible mass incident.

Wu Zhiyuan said, "Secretary Xu, this is clearly a carefully planned scheme."

The timing was impeccable, right when Secretary Sha stepped down, Secretary Jiang took office, Peng Dafu had just been arrested, but progress in recovering the stolen assets and mitigating losses was slow.

The content is highly inflammatory, directly targeting your personal motives and leadership responsibilities; it's designed to escalate the conflict and put you in a very difficult position.

Xu Youwei nodded: "Yes, Xiang Zhuang's sword dance was a ploy to target Liu Bang. They're trying to use the masses to force me out. This is a very ruthless tactic."

Wu Zhiyuan tentatively said, "Secretary Xu, I'll talk to the Municipal Cyberspace Administration and ask them to delete the post and trace its source."

However, is it inappropriate to refute and clarify such a matter?

Xu Youwei nodded and said, "Yes, how can we clarify this? Say that I'm not being transferred? Can I publicly discuss organizational and personnel arrangements?"

To say I'm wholeheartedly for the people? In this mood, the more I try to explain, the worse it gets, and it will only make people think I'm trying to cover something up.

As for those malicious speculations, there's no way to refute them all; it only leads to endless verbal battles, which plays right into their hands.

Here's what you'll do: call Gan Simiao and ask him to organize people to delete the posts and trace the source of the online rumors.

Then, Wu Zhiyuan dialed Gan Simiao's number.

"Zhiyuan, what are your instructions?"

"Minister Gan, please don't say that. How could I dare to give you instructions? There's something I need your urgent attention to."

Recently, a large number of false posts about Secretary Xu and the Yinnong Cooperative case have appeared online. The content is extremely malicious and highly inflammatory. Have you noticed it?

Secretary Xu instructed you to immediately organize resources to delete these rumor posts as soon as possible, and to investigate the source of the information to see who is stirring up trouble behind the scenes.

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone before Gan Simiao's slightly embarrassed voice came through: "Oh dear, Zhiyuan, I was just about to talk to you about this. I saw the post, and it really is outrageous."

The Cyberspace Administration of China has already detected it and deleted a batch of files. However, as you know, information spreads too quickly online and its sources are often hidden, making it difficult to delete everything.

I just deleted it here, and it's posted again under a different account there, it's like playing whack-a-mole.

Moreover, some posts were published outside the province, and our limited permissions make them very difficult to process.

Wu Zhiyuan emphasized, "Minister Gan, there are definitely difficulties, but this situation is quite special and has a very bad impact."

Secretary Xu meant that we should do everything we could to control public opinion and find the source of the problem.

"Understood, understood! We will resolutely carry out Secretary Xu's instructions!" Gan Simiao immediately expressed her stance, but then changed the subject, "However, Zhiyuan, you know the current public opinion environment. Sometimes, the more we delete posts and block them, the more likely we are to trigger a backlash, making the uninformed masses think that we have something to hide."

Could we consider providing some positive guidance and explanations through appropriate channels?

Of course, this is just my personal, immature thought, and in the end, we should follow Secretary Xu's opinion.

"Minister Gan, you are right. I will report your suggestion to Secretary Xu in due course."

Also, regarding the matter I mentioned to you last time concerning Zhu Datong of the Forestry Bureau, what's the progress?

"Oh, about Zhu Datong's situation. I've looked into it indirectly. It's not easy to handle. The staffing quotas are very tight right now; one position for every radish."

There were certain reasons why Zhu Datong was demoted in the first place, and now that he wants to be transferred back, a suitable position and opportunity are needed.

If I were still the director of the forestry bureau, there would be no problem at all. The key is that I am no longer.

However, I've kept this in mind. Given the chance, I'll definitely speak up for them.

"Okay, Minister Gan, I understand. Thank you for your help. Please continue to take care of things online."

"Don't worry, don't worry, it's my job, I'll do my best." Gan Simiao laughed it off. "Okay, that's all for now, I have a meeting to attend to."

Based on just some rumors, Gan Simiao's attitude changed subtly. Xu Youwei's ship hadn't even encountered any real storms yet; it had only just started to get a little windy, and he was already eager to jump ship!

Wu Zhiyuan regretted it deeply; he shouldn't have been so soft-hearted as to recommend Gan Simiao to Xu Youwei.

Xu Youwei was right in his judgment of people, saying that someone like Gan Simiao should not be given important responsibilities, much less be relied upon as a confidant.