Chapter 143: The Situation in the County

Yang Dong led the working group back to the thirteenth floor, which housed the offices of the county discipline inspection commission, and entered the temporary office assigned to them.

Calling it an office was less accurate than calling it a small conference room; the space of about one hundred square meters was more than enough for six people to work in.

Yang Dong opened all the windows, letting the cold wind blow into the room. The alcohol buzz he had been feeling quickly faded, and his mind grew clear.

"Brother Yang, what do you make of the luncheon just now?"

Lü Yanqing sat nearby, first lighting a cigarette and exhaling a cloud of smoke before turning to ask Yang Dong.

Yang Dong glanced at Jiang Hu.

Jiang Hu understood instantly and immediately walked over to the door of the conference room to keep watch.

It was not that they distrusted the comrades of the county discipline inspection commission, but caution was always best.

Only after Jiang Hu had taken his position outside the door did Yang Dong speak to Lü Yanqing: "The luncheon today was quite lavish, and at least it gave me a front-row seat to a few major dramas."

"I am not familiar with the specific dynamics between the Kaiyang County Party Committee and the county government."

"Although I am also from Kaiyang County, I do not work here, and I have no understanding of the daily affairs of these bigwigs."

"However, judging solely by the message conveyed during the luncheon, there are at least three distinct factions in Kaiyang County."

Yang Dong addressed Lü Yanqing, analyzing the situation point by point.

Coming to Kaiyang County, one had to thoroughly understand the local political landscape before carrying out any work.

If one were entirely unfamiliar with local conditions and rushed in blindly, waving the imperial sword indiscriminately, major problems would inevitably arise.

Therefore, the reason he agreed to attend the banquet also stemmed from this intention—he wanted to use this opportunity to observe the bigwigs of Kaiyang County and find a method, a breakthrough point, to crack the deadlock.

"Indeed, I saw it too. Kaiyang County is far from being a monolith."

Lü Yanqing nodded in deep agreement. Judging by the twists and turns of the luncheon, something was clearly amiss.

"If nothing unexpected happens, Vice County Magistrate Zhao Guojun is likely Tan Long's man."

Yang Dong spoke again, giving his conclusion after analysis and observation.

Moreover, this conclusion was backed by logic and evidence. Even if he couldn't tell on the surface, purely based on his memories and experiences from his past life, he knew that Zhao Guojun was Tan Long's man.

Not to mention that he had already figured it out himself; he was no longer relying solely on the experiences and memories of his past life, but had begun to forge his own capabilities.

"Right, this Magistrate Zhao is definitely Secretary Tan's man."

Lü Yanqing chimed in with a convinced nod, endorsing Yang Dong's conclusion.

Yet Hou Donglai, sitting nearby, could not help but speak up: "Two department heads, I have a question."

Hou Donglai was also a deputy section-level cadre, having worked in the municipal procuratorate before his secondment.

Thus, one must not forget that his rank was not merely that of an ordinary special investigation team member.

Lü Yanqing looked at Hou Donglai and nodded with a smile: "Comrade Donglai, go ahead."

All three were deputy section-level cadres, so there were no barriers to communication between them.

Furthermore, among the three, Yang Dong had the least seniority, having been promoted to the deputy section level only recently.

Both Lü Yanqing and Hou Donglai, however, had served as deputy section-level cadres for several years, and their next step would be the full section level.

For Yang Dong to be promoted to full section chief would still take some time, or require some major merit recognized and appreciated by a senior leader.

"I am puzzled. If this Vice County Magistrate Zhao Guojun is Secretary Tan's man, there shouldn't have been any need to go through Zhao Pengcheng, right?"

"If Zhao Guojun is Secretary Tan Long's man, Secretary Tan could entirely recommend Zhao Guojun to the organization himself."

"As the Party Secretary of Kaiyang County and also a member of the Standing Committee of the Lingyun Municipal Party Committee, Secretary Tan should certainly have that qualification, and his authority is vastly superior to Zhao Pengcheng's by several levels."

"Under such circumstances, why would Zhao Guojun need to seek out Zhao Pengcheng? That makes no sense."

Hou Donglai raised a very crucial question.

Lü Yanqing could not answer and could only look to Yang Dong.

Yang Dong said to Hou Donglai, "Donglai, everyone's circumstances are different."

"The fact that Zhao Guojun is Tan Long's man now does not mean he was Tan Long's man a few years ago. Do you understand what I mean?"

"In other words, back then Zhao Guojun was merely at the section level, and would basically not have caught the eye of Tan Long, a deputy-廳-level municipal standing committee member."

"Zhao Guojun most likely only entered Tan Long's field of vision and won his heavy trust after being promoted to vice county magistrate."

Yang Dong provided a very plausible answer, leaving Hou Donglai with no further questions, and he lapsed back into silence.

"Brother Yang, what do you make of Zhao Yufei, the Deputy Secretary of the County Party Committee?"

"Today, the officials of Kaiyang County kept trying to force drinks on us, but at the crucial moment, it was Zhao Yufei who bailed you out and gave you an opening, letting you turn a passive situation into an active one."

"His display of goodwill seemed quite obvious."

Lü Yanqing found this point hard to fathom. Logically speaking, a county party deputy secretary must closely follow the footsteps of the county party secretary; otherwise, being marginalized would happen in a flash.

Though the position of county party deputy secretary sounded prestigious, it was actually a difficult job. Above was the county party secretary, and below were the head of the organization department, the head of the propaganda department, the head of the political and legal affairs commission, the head of the united front work department, and the director of the county party committee office, among others.

If the deputy party secretary was not of one heart with the party secretary, freezing him out was a matter of minutes.

Zhao Yufei was not particularly old either, only in his forties, with at least a dozen years left in his official career.

He seemed to have no reason to risk offending Tan Long just to show goodwill to a lowly deputy section-level cadre, right?

Lü Yanqing could neither understand nor figure it out.

"It's very simple. Secretary Zhao is a local cadre of Kaiyang County."

At the banquet table, Yang Dong had indeed not figured out Zhao Yufei's bizarre behavior at the time, but now he understood.

Zhao Yufei and Tan Long might not necessarily be of one heart, but the two should have a cooperative relationship, or at the very least, not a hostile one.

That was why Tan Long had designated Zhao Yufei to host the luncheon, showing that Tan Long trusted Zhao Yufei relatively well.

However, Zhao Yufei was, above all, a local cadre of Kaiyang County.

Being a local native, winning over local cadres within the system was something he had to do.

And since he himself was from Kaiyang County, there was nothing wrong with Zhao Yufei trying to win him over.

"That makes sense." Lü Yanqing nodded. If things were as Yang Dong analyzed, then all the various arrangements at the luncheon were entirely logical.

"On the other hand, Cheng Dayong, the County Magistrate of Kaiyang County, is definitely not of one heart with Tan Long."

Lü Yanqing added a point. The person he saw most clearly and understood best was Cheng Dayong.

Cheng Dayong had clearly come to the dinner with the purpose of ruining the atmosphere.

Moreover, Cheng Dayong had deliberately sneered at Yang Dong and tried to keep him in check.

A normal cadre would never act like that at such a crucial moment, provoking Yang Dong, who held the imperial sword.

Thus, Cheng Dayong's intention was quite obvious: he wanted to handle these nineteen cadres severely and heavily.

This county magistrate was, after all, the number two figure of the county committee, the county party deputy secretary, and the number one figure of the county government.

His attitude was also of vital importance.

Yet his intention to use Yang Dong and the others was too blatant, the chisel marks too heavy; it must have been a hastily improvised countermeasure.

Perhaps Cheng Dayong had deliberated for a long time before deciding to take a desperate risk and part ways with Tan Long.

Only then had he come up with such a highly purposeful method. If he had been given a few more days to plan, believed that this magistrate would have handled it much more reasonably.

Still, since Cheng Dayong had already made his attitude clear, Yang Dong could not simply turn a blind eye.

After all, he was the number two figure of Kaiyang County.