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"The current mayor of Lincheng City is Wang Yang."
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone fell silent.
Logically speaking, after Qiao Ning's downfall, Lin City Mayor Wang Yang was the most suitable candidate.
But why didn't any of the Standing Committee members recommend Wang Yang?
The reason is simple: Wang Yang has no background in the province. He is a pragmatic cadre, and his promotion to mayor of Lincheng City was largely due to the promotion he received from a member of the provincial standing committee.
However, that Standing Committee member has now been relegated to the second tier and has no say at all.
This also means that Wang Yang's career has reached its peak, and the mayor of Lincheng is the end of his political career.
But what was unexpected was that at this critical moment, Ning Yuanming would actually jump out to speak up for Wang Yang.
Secretary Gong's eyes lit up. Ning Yuanming did a great job in this regard, which suited his taste perfectly.
He knew about Wang Yang; his resume was very solid.
He has extensive experience in governing local areas, having served as county head, county party secretary, executive vice mayor, and mayor.
Moreover, Wang Yang deserves much credit for Lincheng's current development.
Such a comrade should not be overlooked simply because he has no connections within the provincial party committee.
Ning Yuanming spoke up for Wang Yang, whether it was because he had a connection with Wang Yang or because he was genuinely evaluating the situation from an objective perspective.
Secretary Gong didn't care.
Even if there is a connection between him and Wang Yang, that would be even better, because Ning Yuanming has a shallow foundation and is the easiest to win over.
Using Wang Yang's matter as an opportunity, Secretary Gong gave Pang Bochuan a warning.
"Comrade Bochuan, the focus of the Organization Department's work is to ensure that no outstanding talents are overlooked. How can we not include such an excellent comrade as Wang Yang in the list of candidates for consideration?"
Pang Bochuan was reprimanded, but he remained silent.
This was originally due to his own selfish motives; Wang Yang was not favored by him and could only suffer this in silence.
"Secretary Gong, I need to criticize myself for not doing my job well. In the future, the organization department will definitely be more careful in selecting outstanding comrades."
"We hope that the Organization Department will learn from this lesson and ensure that this situation never happens again in the future."
"Right now, there are four comrades listed as candidates for investigation. Everyone is aware of their situations. In that case, let's vote by raising our hands! Comrade Zhicheng is overseas, and he asked me to help him vote. His vote is for Comrade Zuchang."
Members of the Standing Committee, once you hear that a sex scene is coming, please concentrate.
Then Secretary Gong continued speaking.
"Those who agree with Yang Qitong serving as the secretary of the Lincheng Municipal Party Committee, please raise your hands."
Pang Bochuan and Zhao Lichun raised their hands, but they were the only two members of the Standing Committee to do so.
This made the two men feel a chill in their hearts; they realized they had become the minority.
"Those who agree with Xu Zuchang serving as the secretary of the Lincheng Municipal Party Committee, please raise your hands."
Liang Qunfeng, Zhou Kaihua, and You Deshun raised their hands, and with Jin Zhicheng's vote, Xu Zuchang had four votes.
At this moment, Yan Gangfeng, Wen Qihang, Ning Yuanming, and Song Hongzhong, the military officer and commander of the Handong Provincial Military Region, all looked at Gong Kaichen.
To their surprise, Secretary Gong did not raise his hand.
This discovery startled the group. Yan Gangfeng seemed thoughtful, Wen Qihang and Song Hongzhong remained expressionless, while Ning Yuanming was secretly delighted.
"Those who agree with Zhu Wangjie serving as the secretary of the Lincheng Municipal Party Committee, please raise your hands."
Throughout the entire Standing Committee meeting, not a single person raised their hand. Zhu Wangjie became the one who was merely there to accompany the prince in his studies, and he received a zero.
"Those who agree with Wang Yang serving as the secretary of the Lincheng Municipal Party Committee, please raise your hands."
As soon as he finished speaking, Secretary Gong raised his hand, followed closely by Ning Yuanming, and Yan Gangfeng was the third to raise his hand.
By this point, Wang Yang already had three votes.
This made Liang Qunfeng, Zhou Kaihua, and You Deshun look rather unpleasant, while Pang Bochuan and Zhao Lichun were simply watching the show.
Wen Qihang, the secretary-general of the provincial party committee, glanced at Secretary Gong, then at You Deshun, his head lowered and his eyes darting around as he weighed the pros and cons in his mind.
Should we follow Secretary Gong or Governor Jin?
Just as he hesitated, Song Hongzhong, who was sitting opposite him, raised his hand.
Wang Yang received four votes.
Wen Qihang glanced at Song Hongzhong with some surprise. He hadn't expected that this military-clad Standing Committee member would choose to take sides this time.
In the past, he would have chosen to abstain in such situations.
This is also the most common choice for members of the Standing Committee who are in military uniform at Standing Committee meetings.
The military rarely intervenes in local affairs, so Song Hongzhong, as the commander of the provincial military region, does not take sides and maintains absolute neutrality.
But today, this neutrality has been broken.
Secretary Gong glanced at Song Hongzhong thoughtfully. In fact, he was also a little curious. Song Hongzhong's unprecedented choice to support him must have some other reason.
Wang Yang received four votes, and Xu Zuchang received four votes, resulting in a tie.
With only one provincial party committee member remaining, all eyes are now on Wen Qihang.
Secretary-General Wen never imagined that one day he would become the person who played a decisive role in the Standing Committee meeting.
This left him feeling somewhat amused and exasperated. If he could, he truly didn't want to be the person who made the decisions. The position of Secretary-General of the Provincial Party Committee wasn't easy; offending anyone was never a good thing.
However, Song Hongzhong's choice of sides did serve as a reminder to Wen Qihang.
Putting aside the fact that he offended Secretary Gong, his future days will be even more difficult.
Song Hongzhong has stood up to support Secretary Gong. What does this mean? It's self-evident!
If Wen Qihang still doesn't know what to choose at this time, then his job as the provincial party committee secretary-general has been in vain.
Under the watchful eyes of all the Standing Committee members, Wen Qihang raised his hand.
This means that in this choice, he supported Secretary Gong and stood on the opposite side of Governor Jin.
A smile returned to Secretary Gong's face.
He certainly had no one who could push him to the top, but this time at the Standing Committee meeting, he won.
They won against a Standing Committee member and a vice governor, and also against a Standing Committee member in military uniform.
"Based on the vote of all comrades, Comrade Wang Yang will serve as the Secretary of the Lincheng Municipal Party Committee. The Organization Department will make further arrangements in accordance with the regulations."
"Yes, Secretary Gong."
Although Yang Qitong didn't participate, Xu Zuchang also didn't participate, so neither he nor Zhao Lichun suffered a loss.
"Since Comrade Wang Yang has taken on the position of Secretary of the Lincheng Municipal Party Committee, the Organization Department needs to select a suitable candidate for the vacant mayor position."
"At the next regular meeting of the Standing Committee, I will vote together with the Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission of Lincheng City."
A mayor and a municipal political and legal affairs secretary—it's foreseeable that they'll fight even harder next time.
This time, however, Pang Bochuan needs to be more serious.
What Secretary Gong is more curious about right now is Song Hongzhong's attitude.
Chapter 170 Old Fang's Classmate
After the provincial party committee's routine work meeting ended, Gong Kaichen returned to his office and immediately told Qi Tongwei something.
"Tongwei, could you contact Comrade Hongzhong for me and ask him to come to my office as soon as possible? There are some things I need to discuss with him."
Qi Tongwei immediately understood that Secretary Gong wanted to see Song Hongzhong, the commander of the Handong Provincial Military Region!
So Qi Tongwei immediately spoke up.
"Yes, boss."
After leaving Secretary Gong's office, Qi Tongwei went to his desk and made a phone call to Song Hongzhong.
As soon as the call connected, Qi Tongwei spoke immediately.
"Hello, is this Commander Song?"
"I am Song Hongzhong."
"Commander Song, this is Qi Tongwei from the Provincial Party Committee Office. Secretary Gong has instructed you to come to the Secretary's office as soon as possible, if it is convenient for you."
"Haha, okay, I'll get ready and be right there."
Song Hongzhong was not at all surprised that Gong Kaichen had come to him.
It can be said that when he voted and openly sided with Secretary Gong, he had already made preparations for what he is doing now.
Song Hongzhong arrived quickly. When he reached Secretary Gong's office, Secretary Gong was very polite to this potential ally.
He personally brewed a cup of tea for Song Hongzhong, because he already had a premonition.
After letting Qi Tongwei leave first, only Gong Kaichen and Song Hongzhong remained in the secretary's office.
The two sat on the sofa, and Secretary Gong asked in a very casual manner.
"Comrade Hongzhong, how is the work at the Provincial Military Region progressing? Is there anything we can do to provide support from the Provincial Party Committee?"
The provincial military command system is a unique form of armed forces organization in my country.
It undertakes many important responsibilities, including national defense mobilization, militia and reserve force building, and conscription work, and is an important bridge connecting the military and local areas.
At the same time, the provincial military district system has another special feature: it implements a dual leadership system between the military and local authorities.
The provincial military district implements a party committee system, and the first secretary of the provincial military district party committee is Gong Kaichen, the provincial party secretary.
In response to Secretary Gong's question, Song Hongzhong smiled and replied.
"The work of the Provincial Military Command is progressing steadily. The development of the militia and reserve forces is the most important task for the Provincial Military Command at this stage."
"That's good, that's good! The militia and reserve force is a unique feature of our country and our army, and we must never abandon it. We must keep a close eye on the work of the militia at all times."
Song Hongzhong smiled and nodded. After the two leaders drank a cup of tea, an eerie silence fell over the secretary's office.
It seemed that both of them were waiting for the other to speak first.
After a short while, Song Hongzhong probably felt a little embarrassed to let Secretary Gong speak first, so he took the initiative to speak himself.
“Secretary Gong, I graduated from the National Defense University at the beginning of the year. I had a roommate there who mentioned you to me more than once.”
At this point, Secretary Gong had a good idea of what was going on, but he still went along with Song Hongzhong's words and asked with a smile.
"Commander Song's roommate knows me?"
"Yes! He is Fang Zhenhua, the commander of the Long Live Army of the Beijing Military Region."
"Haha, no wonder!"
This old Fang is not in Handong, but who would have thought that he still has a backup plan in Handong.
After laughing, Song Hongzhong said to Secretary Gong.
“Secretary, with Lao Fang’s connection, I won’t hide anything from you. Actually, you should know that once we become commanders of the provincial military region, we basically have no chance of being promoted to lieutenant general or higher.”
Secretary Gong nodded.
For these major generals, the position of provincial military district commander is essentially equivalent to that of a member of the National People's Congress or the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
In the military, any general who is ambitious and enterprising does not want to become the commander of a provincial military region.
"I was able to go to the National Defense University this time because one of my old superiors gave me this opportunity. At first, I didn't quite understand why I was going to the National Defense University."
"Why do you say that?"
"Thanks to the help I received from my former superior, I've reached the pinnacle of my career at my current position."
Gong Kaichen nodded.
For Song Hongzhong at that time, even if he went to study at the National Defense University, it would be quite difficult to return to the army.
"But this time, I met my classmate Lao Fang, and we were even assigned to the same dormitory. It was only then that I understood the old leader's good intentions."
This is essentially helping Song Hongzhong find a new patron. Everyone knows that Fang Zhenhua is incredibly powerful and influential in the military these days.
With the support of his superiors and the impressive record of crushing the entire army, he can be considered the top young and promising general in the military today.
At this moment, Song Hongzhong stepped forward, and his original military career was thus saved from the brink of death.