NOVEL NEXT Chapter 315: 315 Banished to Shadong
Originally, Zhang Hongyang was to become the Mayor of Jiangdong District.
That position is the leading government role in the most crucial district or county of Yangzhou City, and it's a role with great potential. With a two-year transition, he could rise to become the District Committee Secretary of that district and smoothly join the sequence of standing committee members of the City Committee.
This arrangement also corresponded with Zhang Hongyang's past experience as the class monitor of the Youth Class at the Provincial Party School.
Having Zhang Hongyang as the Mayor of Jiangdong District, followed by the Executive Vice Mayor and the second and third Vice Mayors, Zhao Yan and Du Man (his uncle's daughter), was something that Liu Zhizhong was quite displeased with. Because it gave Zhang Hongyang more opportunities, which might lead to harassment of his wife, Zhao Yan.
Not to mention that Luo Yanling was the Director of the Jiangdong District Archives Bureau, making it easier for Zhang Hongyang to harass her. That Zhang Hongyang was considering making a move on Luo Yanling was something Liu Zhizhong knew about.
Liu Zhizhong originally wanted to fill the role of Executive Vice Mayor himself, prepared to clash and compete with Zhang Hongyang in Jiangdong District. But now he had become the City Government Chief Secretary, and he couldn't take care of his wife and Luo Yanling anymore.
In Hainan and on the way back, Liu Zhizhong had complained about this to Zhang Yuxing. However, Zhang Yuxing said that this was a decision of the City Committee, approved by the newly arrived Organization Department Head Zhang Tianbao, and it needed to be reported and ratified by the province. How could it be changed so easily?
Yet the current personnel appointment announcement completely overturned the previous decision.
Zhang Hongyang was appointed as the deputy secretary and the County Mayor of the most remote and poorest county in Yangzhou City—Shadong County, at the Standard Level! The original County Mayor of that county retired early due to illness. The originally appointed Mayor of Jiangdong District stayed put.
Not only was Liu Zhizhong taken aback, but his concerns about Jiangdong District were also swiftly swept away, and he found the personnel arrangement rules baffling.
The current personnel arrangements were sometimes quite puzzling, no longer following norms, rules, or precedents.
Some could leap from being an ordinary clerk to a Standard Level position within three years, even becoming a District Committee Secretary in one year and a Deputy Mayor the next!
The only unchanging rule in one's official career is: The bigger and stronger the backing, the more the seemingly impossible promotions could happen—the hotter you are, the more likely you are to fail!
Now things were interesting. Zhang Hongyang, the hot favorite, also failed.
The Zhang Family's profound influence in Yangzhou spread across three generations, but Zhang Hongyang's move to become the County Mayor of Shadong seemed like a promotion but was actually a chilly demotion, akin to being exiled. How was he supposed to rise from there?
Over the years, Shadong County had always been the final haven for those who were unsuccessful. It could also be said that many officials who were suppressed and ousted by the Zhang Family, yet did not make obvious mistakes, were mostly sent to Shadong County to idle away their time until death.
Now, by throwing him into the County Mayor position there, wasn't this the same as sending him into the den of his enemies? The ultimate decision-maker for this personnel adjustment—the Mayor, Du Yuesheng—Zhang Hongyang's uncle by marriage, had he lost his mind?
Liu Zhizhong was utterly puzzled!
And it wasn't just him. The entire Yangzhou officialdom was tantamount to experiencing an earthquake!
Few could fathom how the Zhang Family's proudest scion of the new generation had been relegated to being dispatched to Shadong County.
In Shadong County, there were not a few who hated the Zhang Family. One by one, the main leaders, sharpening their claws, were more than ready to give Zhang Hongyang a warm welcome, ensuring his time as County Mayor was anything but peaceful. Those who had been oppressed and bullied by the Zhang Family, how could they let such an opportunity slip by?
To say that the surface of officialdom is harmonious is one thing, but behind the scenes, if they catch an opportunity, they truly go for the kill!
Liu Zhizhong couldn't help but sneer in his heart. Zhang Hongyang, you're finished, far from the center of power in Yangzhou, and falling into a wolves' lair!
At that moment, a message from Zhang Hongyang arrived on Liu Zhizhong's phone.
Upon opening it, a strong wave of hostility hit him...