Fang Zhicheng said, "Honest words are unpleasant to the ear. I may have been rude in many ways when I was speaking just now."
Hu Gang waved his hand and said with a smile: "How could I be so narrow-minded."
Fang Zhicheng had been speaking in a strong tone since he entered the office. He did this on purpose. If he spoke too humbly, how could he irritate Hu Gang? Fang Zhicheng had actually used the method of provoking Hu Gang just now, but the method was more covert.
Hu Gang said: "As you said, Zang Yi chose Zhao Ling instead of me, so I am destined to be his next target to consolidate his power in Hanzhou. I should be prepared for danger in times of peace."
Fang Zhicheng thought to himself that Hu Gang was quite smart and could correctly understand his situation, which was why he had been able to serve as mayor for many years.
Fang Zhicheng smiled and said, "If nothing unexpected happens, Zang Yi will sort out the division of labor for the mayor next, and then make the work of the municipal government more beneficial to him."
Hu Gang's eyes flashed with a gleam of light, and he said in a deep voice: "How can we let him do what he wants?"
Fang Zhicheng added: "Recently, there have been a lot of complaints from the Petition Bureau and the Discipline Inspection System, all of which are related to the dirty laundry of several deputy mayors. If I'm not mistaken, this is Zang Yi warming up for the general offensive."
Hu Gang nodded and said, "Zang Yi's ambition is a little too big. He has only been in Hanzhou for a month, but he has already started to make so many moves. Isn't he afraid of causing controversy?"
Fang Zhicheng smiled but did not say what he was thinking. Zang Yi was not afraid of criticism. He was used to climbing up by stepping on other people's shoulders. In his eyes, some officials were just stepping stones on his road to career advancement.
Zang Yi has a broad vision and occupies a high position. His future lies at the national level. In his opinion, local forces are not particularly important.
Now Fang Zhicheng is seizing Zang Yi's idea and using local forces to compete with Zang Yi. Hu Gang is a veteran official in Hanzhou. Although he has no remarkable achievements during his term, he has a group of staunch supporters behind him.
Zang Yi's strength in Yanjing is undeniable, but if the officials of Hanzhou collectively exclude him, even if Zang Yi is able to overcome the opposition, it will still have a significant impact on his official authority and reputation.
After all, Zang Yi is no longer the Zang Yi of Guhe County. At that time, he could clear all obstacles with his youthful vigor, but in Hanzhou, Zang Yi could not do that.
Chapter 0705: Victory and Strategic Countermeasures
As Fang Zhicheng had analyzed, soon at the executive mayor's meeting, officials led by Zang Yi and Zhao Ling had a heated debate with Hu Gang's group. The topic was naturally the recent denunciation materials.
Zhao Ling said in a serious tone: "Recently, various departments of the municipal government have received many reports that some personnel have not taken action at work, and have even violated relevant organizational regulations. I think the municipal government needs to adjust the division of labor now, and cannot let the corrupt and decadent atmosphere damage the government's image."
As the second-in-command of the municipal government, Zhao Liang has the ability to guide the direction of the meeting.
Zang Yi nodded and said, "From the instructions of the central government this year, it has become a general trend to rectify the work style of government officials, so I also agree with Mayor Zhao's opinion that some positions should be slightly adjusted."
The two deputy mayors who received the most reports and complaints were Chen Hua, who was in charge of the industrial economy, and Shen Dechao, who was in charge of the agricultural economy.
Chen Hua looked a little unhappy. He stared at Zhao Ling and said, "Mayor Zhao, let's be frank. The certain people you mentioned are probably me, right?"
Zhao Ling glanced at Chen Hua and said, "In recent years, Hanzhou's industrial enterprises have been declining. Comrade Chen Hua, you and we should reflect on whether we should step down and let someone more capable take that position."
Chen Hua was extremely angry at Zhao Liang. He was also a deputy mayor, although he did not have the title of executive mayor like Zhao Liang. However, he did not expect to be humiliated in person by Zhao Liang at the meeting.
Chen Hua pointed at Zhao Ling's nose and scolded, "Zhao Ling, don't think you can be arrogant just because you can get a national project. I think I have been conscientious in managing the industrial economy. Now the industrial economy is in a downturn across the country and even the world. If it were you, could you guarantee that you would be able to develop Hanzhou's industrial economy?"
Zhao Ling said calmly, "Every profession has its own division of labor. I admit that I cannot be the deputy mayor of industry, but that does not mean others cannot be. The report said that since you took charge of the industrial economy, you have not accomplished much, but you have attended many dinner parties. You took advantage of your position as the mayor of industry to eat and drink at public expense."
Chen Hua pointed at Zhao Ling and was so angry that he said, "You are slandering me!"
What Zhao Ling said was actually not very lethal. Who among all the people present had not participated in a public-funded dinner? It was just that in this situation, it was enough to make Chen Hua furious and confused. Once he was in a hurry, it gave Zhao Ling an opportunity to take advantage of him.
After that, Zhao Ling also started to attack Shen Dechao, saying: "A lot of good farmland in Hanzhou has been destroyed in the past few days. Although we have concentrated on building agricultural demonstration bases, there is only outflow and no inflow. A large amount of national financial funds have entered the agricultural sector, but there is no movement at all. So I think Comrade Shen Dechao also needs to reflect on himself."
Shen Dechao was not as hot-tempered as Chen Hua. He sneered and said, "Mayor Zhao, you have to take responsibility for accusing me of something. You can't eat anything you want, and you can't talk anything you want."
Zhao Ling took out a piece of paper and said, "This is the output and input details of the agricultural economy in the past two years. Billions of yuan were invested, but the output was less than 1 billion yuan. Isn't this evidence?"
Shen Dechao snorted and said, "It seems that Mayor Zhao intends to make me and Chen Hua step down today. However, you are not the Minister of Organization. The appointment and removal of cadres must be approved by the organization. You do not have this power."
Zang Yi waved his hand and said, "The municipal government has the power to make the division of labor more reasonable. Mayor Zhao's point of view just now is certainly a bit biased, but his starting point is good. I hope everyone can perform their duties and fulfill their responsibilities instead of just sitting back and enjoying the fruits of others' labor."
Chen Hua sneered: "As a newcomer, what qualifications do you have to point fingers?"
Zang Yi didn't take it as an offense, he smiled faintly and said: "I am also a member of the municipal government. Just because I just arrived, do I not even have the right to speak?"
Hu Gang had been silent all this time, but he finally coughed and said calmly, "Whether the municipal government should redistribute the work, I think everyone's opinions are important, but we also need to see what the municipal party committee thinks. After all, the municipal party committee is the core of guiding daily work. I think this resolution should be discussed at the municipal party committee standing committee meeting to see the opinions of Secretary Zhang and other leaders."
When Zhao Liang heard Hu Gang say this, his brows visibly frowned. He naturally knew Hu Gang's intention. Leaving the dispute to be resolved at the Standing Committee meeting, the situation would not be so easy to control at the government level.
At the municipal government meeting, Zhao Liang was the executive vice mayor and a member of the municipal party committee; Zang Yi was not only the vice mayor, but also a member of the municipal party committee. In addition to the two vice mayors who were close to Zhao Liang, Zhao Liang had a four-vote advantage among the eight mayors and vice mayors. Now, because of the discussion of the two vice mayors who were close to Hu Gang, these two people did not have the right to vote, so if there was a vote at the municipal government level, it would be four to two.
According to Zhao Ling and Zang Yi's plan, they hoped to launch a surprise attack, first finalize the division of labor at the municipal government meeting, and then submit it to the municipal party committee standing committee for discussion and voting. Normally, the standing committee would not interfere too much in matters determined by the municipal government.
But no one expected Hu Gang to do this, which was obviously beyond the expectations of Zhao Ling and Zang Yi.
After the meeting, Zhao Ling followed Zang Yi into the office and said in a serious tone, "It seems that Hu Gang had already guessed our plan."
Zang Yi nodded and frowned, "It's strange. How did Hu Gang know that we would raise the issue of re-dividing the mayor's work at today's meeting?"
Zhao Ling said in a deep voice: "Given Hu Gang's personality and habits, it would be difficult for him to guess our actions."
Zang Yi tapped his fingers on the table and said, "Fang Zhicheng and Hu Gang had a deep discussion a few days ago. Hu Gang said today that bringing the dispute to the Standing Committee was probably the solution they came up with when they met that day."
Zhao Ling nodded and said, "Fang Zhicheng is very good at analyzing and processing intelligence. He has a deputy district chief named Zhang who collects intelligence for him. It is possible that Fang Zhicheng analyzed the actions outside from the recent intelligence."
Zang Yi frowned and said, "So the action of readjusting the division of labor among the mayors will come to a temporary halt. Since Fang Zhicheng has informed Hu Gang, he will probably make some arrangements at the Standing Committee. At the current Standing Committee, if Zhang Tianling, Wan Heng and Hu Gang are added, we will still find it difficult to cope."