Absolute power in officialdom

Chapter 272 The Finance Bureau Chief's Show of Force

Qingshan County is an impoverished county, but the county government and county party committee are located in a very grand and impressive place, with a large area and magnificent buildings.

Inside the compound stands a sixteen-story main building, with four auxiliary buildings arranged in the four corners, like stars surrounding the moon. The auxiliary buildings are not tall, only three stories high.

The main building houses the offices of some county-level departments and county party committee agencies, such as the Publicity Department, the Discipline Inspection Commission, the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, and the United Front Work Department.

The four auxiliary buildings are occupied by the county party committee, the county government, the county people's congress, and the county political consultative conference, one of each.

Behind the main building, there is a three-story building that houses the staff canteen and gym.

The county government has been located here for several years now, and the decision to build the new building was made by the predecessor of Gan Simiao's predecessor.

When the new building was completed, he moved in.

Relocating the government affairs center may have a positive impact on the economy, but it is somewhat unrealistic to disregard the county's specific circumstances and financial resources.

For example, Qingshan County, which has not yet been removed from the list of impoverished counties, already boasts a government building that is so modern and impressive.

How much government funding is behind this?

If this money were used for road construction, education assistance, and industry support, how many practical problems could it solve?

Wu Zhiyuan's office is on the second floor of the county government's annex building.

The county head and deputy county head are both on the second floor.

Wu Zhiyuan's secretary is Zhao Bo.

Zhao Bo is not much younger than Wu Zhiyuan. His position is the head of the second section of the county government office, but his actual rank is only at the section level.

Not only do county party secretaries and county heads have secretaries, but deputy county heads also have secretaries.

Of course, in some places, they might not be called secretaries, but rather correspondents or something similar, but they still do the work of secretaries.

The document stipulates that only those at the vice-provincial level or above can be assigned full-time secretaries, but it does not mean that those below the vice-provincial level cannot be assigned part-time secretaries.

In fact, the deputy county head's secretary is a part-time position.

After listening to Zhao Bo's introduction, Wu Zhiyuan realized that the county government office actually had eighteen internal departments.

The organization includes the General Affairs Section, Confidential Archives Section, Policy and Regulations Section, County Government General Duty Office, Supervision Section, Information Section, Research Section, Government Affairs Disclosure Office, Capital Market Section, Financial Supervision Section, National Defense Mobilization Section, and the Party Committee of the Organization, as well as Sections One through Six.

Section One is the County Head's Office, which serves the County Head.

Second Section, serving the Executive Deputy County Head.

From the third to the sixth section, serving other deputy county heads.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with Zhao Bo, Wu Zhiyuan said to him, "Xiao Zhao, please make some contact. We're going to the finance and tax departments for research this afternoon. First to the Finance Bureau, then to the Tax Bureau."

There's no need for any formal report; it's just a preliminary familiarization with the situation and a meeting with the bureau's leadership team.

"Yes, County Chief Wu."

Zhao Bo handed over a contact list, which Wu Zhiyuan flipped through.

Wu Fangcai, the county finance bureau chief, shares the same surname as Wu Zhiyuan.

Wu Zhiyuan knew him, and knew him to some extent.

When Geng Dongqing first came to Qingshan County, Wu Fangcai was still the deputy director of the Statistics Bureau.

With the strong support of Geng Dongqing, Wu Fangcai was promoted to the rank of section chief in just a few years. He first served as the director of the statistics bureau, and soon after, he was given an important position as the director of the finance bureau.

Wu Fangcai may be capable, but he is bureaucratic and arrogant. He is probably better at dealing with superiors and manipulating subordinates, but he lacks sufficient respect for his peers or less powerful leaders.

Wu Zhiyuan tidied up his office and then went to the office of Acting County Head Ding Yiyi.

"County Magistrate Zhiyuan, you're here." Ding Yi stood up when he saw Wu Zhiyuan arrive.

"County Chief Ding, reporting for duty."

"Sit down, sit down. We used to be colleagues, and we're still colleagues after coming to Qingshan. What a coincidence!"

Ding Yi invited Wu Zhiyuan to sit down, and then personally poured him a cup of tea.

Ding Yiyi was wearing a short-sleeved shirt and trousers, with her long hair tied up in a bun at the back of her head. She had fair skin and looked younger than her actual age, like a girl next door.

"Zhiyuan, I am very pleased that you have been appointed as the executive deputy county head."

I knew something about the situation in Qingshan County before.

After arriving, I found it to be more complicated than I had imagined.

You've probably heard about Secretary Geng's style; he's quite involved in the specifics of government work.

Some things, before the government's executive meeting had even discussed them, and before I even fully grasped the situation, were approved by Secretary Geng.

Some matters only require review and approval by the county mayor's office or the county government's executive meeting, but Secretary Geng said they need to be submitted to the county party committee's standing committee.

Moreover, for some matters that originally fell under the county head's purview, Secretary Geng established a leading group, with himself as the group leader and me as the deputy group leader.

Ding Yiyi spoke very subtly.

Actually, even if Ding Yiyi didn't say it, Wu Zhiyuan already knew.

Geng Dongqing is a protégé of Mayor Wen Changcheng, and his promotion to Party Secretary this time is largely due to Wen Changcheng's strong recommendation.

When Gan Simiao became secretary, the conflict between him and Geng Dongqing had already become public.

When Gan Simiao spoke, Geng Dongqing not only ignored him, but sometimes even went against him.

Therefore, Gan Simiao has little say in major matters of the county government.

Gan Simiao is good at playing with women, but he's not so good at manipulating power.

Now that Geng Dongqing has taken over as secretary, he wants to interfere in the government's work.

There was a news report about an official who, when he was the county head, sidelined the county party secretary.

When he was the county party secretary, he sidelined the county head.

Wu Zhiyuan slowly began, "County Chief Ding, my understanding is that the county party committee's main role in government work is to grasp the direction, put forward principled requirements, and supervise their implementation."

The specific planning, project approval, funding arrangements, and policy implementation should be organized and implemented by the government in accordance with laws, regulations, and procedures.

The county mayor's office meeting and the county government's executive meeting are important platforms for the county government to make decisions in accordance with the law.

If these legally mandated decision-making procedures are disregarded or bypassed, the government's authority and effectiveness in enforcing decisions will be undermined.

Ding Yi sighed softly: "I've been in Qingshan County for half a month now, and I've come to deeply understand what it means to have a 'strong Party Secretary and a weak County Head.' It's really difficult to get anything done."

The task had just begun when a supervisory notice from the county party committee office arrived.

Many funding arrangements were just beginning to take shape when the Party Secretary's instructions had already reached the Finance Bureau, specifying the intended use of the funds.

He directly took charge of some leading groups that should have been government-led, and put me in the position of deputy group leader.

These are all real constraints.

Wu Zhiyuan and Ding Yiyi had worked together before and had a good relationship; otherwise, he wouldn't have made those comments.

Ding Yi paused for a moment, then continued, "County Chief Zhiyuan, Secretary Geng is very concerned about key departments such as finance and development and reform."

In particular, Wu Fangcai, the director of the Finance Bureau, was promoted by Secretary Geng and obeys Secretary Geng's every word.

The approval slips I issue are sometimes less effective at getting to him than a phone call from the county committee office.

Wu Zhiyuan continued, "County Chief Ding, it's not a problem that Secretary Geng is concerned about core departments like finance and development and reform; it reflects the county party committee's emphasis on economic work."

However, concern does not equate to interference, much less the right to overstep one's bounds and substitute for the county government's decisions.

Specific funding arrangements and project approvals must be conducted in accordance with laws and regulations. Matters requiring review should be submitted to the county mayor's office meeting, or the county government's executive meeting, for collective discussion and democratic decision-making. This is the rule, and also the bottom line.

Wu Zhiyuan was able to understand Ding Yiyi's predicament.

In terms of manipulating power, Gan Simiao was no match for Geng Dongqing, let alone Ding Yiyi.

Some people in officialdom, like Geng Dongqing, may not be very good at doing things, but they are particularly good at figuring out power politics.

They have mastered the ins and outs of the system, knowing how to create momentum, how to use people, and how to win people's hearts, always managing to get things done according to their own desires.

Faced with such an opponent, enthusiasm and ability alone are not enough; political wisdom, strategic resolve, and a deep understanding and flexible application of the rules are also required.

After a while, Ding Yiyi said, "County Magistrate Zhiyuan, there is something I want to discuss with you."

Next week, I will be going to the Provincial Party School to attend a two-week training course for newly appointed department-level leading cadres.

As required, this is a full-time training program. With me gone, you'll have to temporarily take charge of the government's daily operations.

With the county head away for training, it is perfectly legitimate for the executive deputy county head to preside over the county government's work.

"County Chief Ding, please go and study with peace of mind. I will ensure that the work on the government side is carried out in accordance with the established arrangements and procedures, and I will report to you in a timely manner if any important situations arise."

In the afternoon, accompanied by Xu Jin, deputy director of the county government office, and Zhao Bo, secretary, Wu Zhiyuan went to the county finance bureau for research.

The Finance Bureau does not operate from the county government compound, but instead has a separate seven-story office building located two streets away.

As is customary, when the executive deputy county head comes to conduct research for the first time, the bureau's main leaders should at least greet him in the lobby, even if they don't wait at the entrance in advance. This is basic etiquette and a sign of respect for superiors.

However, at this moment, there were only two uniformed security guards at the entrance, and no bureau leaders were seen.

Xu Jin frowned slightly and whispered to Zhao Bo, "Xiao Zhao, what's going on?"

Just as Zhao Bo was about to speak, a slightly overweight middle-aged man strode out of the building with a smile on his face. It was Li Guohua, the deputy director of the Finance Bureau.

"Welcome County Chief Wu to the Finance Bureau for your guidance! County Chief Wu, you must be tired from your journey."

Director Wu received a last-minute call from Secretary Geng of the County Party Committee. He had some urgent work to report and would be slightly delayed. He specifically instructed me to receive him first, and that he would arrive shortly after.

Wu Zhiyuan's face was unreadable as he reached out and shook hands with Li Guohua.

Deep down, he was very unhappy.

He was not obsessed with officialdom, nor did he value those empty formalities of welcoming and sending off guests or red tape.

When he was in Xindian Town, he preferred to travel light and go directly to the fields, workshops and factories to hear the truth and see the real situation.

However, the situation is different today.

This was not his initiative to simplify the reception, but rather a deliberate act of disrespect on the part of the other party.

As the director of the Finance Bureau, Wu Fangcai could not possibly be unaware of the significance of the executive deputy county head's first visit for research.

Even in special circumstances like an urgent phone call from the county party secretary, other deputy directors could be sent to wait at the door in advance to explain.

Alternatively, communicate in advance, explain the situation, and express your apology.

Instead of sending a deputy director who arrives late, using a perfunctory excuse like "Secretary Geng called."

This is no longer a simple lack of courtesy; it is a signal, a test, or even a deliberate attempt to intimidate.

Wu Fangcai was using this method to tell this newly arrived executive deputy county head:

I, Wu Fangcai, am backed by Geng Dongqing. In my eyes, a phone call from the county party secretary is far more important than your research visit as the executive deputy county head. You are not worthy of my respectful waiting.