Chapter 625: Plotting!

Landon just stepped into his deputy secretary's office when Provincial Party Committee Secretary-General He Yuanhang followed closely behind, smiling and saying, "Secretary Lu, do you need anything else in the office? I'll arrange it right away."

Lu Fan glanced around, smiling and replying, "Everything is already complete; I have no requests in this regard, thank you for your trouble."

He Yuanhang lowered his posture, smiling, "It's my duty to serve the leaders well! Secretary Lu, regarding Comrades Chen Haohao, Zhou Xiang, and Xiao Lu, I'd like to ask for instructions on how to arrange them."

Lu Fan said, "Chen Haohao and Xiao Lu's positions are assigned to the Provincial Party Committee General Office; Chen Haohao will serve as my secretary, Xiao Lu as my dedicated driver, and Zhou Xiang will go to the Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee."

"Understood, Secretary, I'll handle it immediately according to your instructions. As for the deputy secretary-general who will assist with your work, please also give me guidance."

"I just spoke with Secretary Xingyuan; for now, let Comrade Liu Qingyun take charge."

"Alright, I'll arrange it right away. I won't disturb you further, Secretary; if you have any orders, just call me—my office is right next door."

Less than ten minutes later, Deputy Secretary-General Liu Qingyun pushed the door open, respectfully saying, "Secretary, I am Liu Qingyun, here to report for duty; please give me your instructions."

Lu Fan nodded and asked, "Before becoming deputy secretary-general, which department did you work in?"

Liu Qingyun's eyes dimmed as he replied, "Secretary, I previously served as Deputy Municipal Party Secretary in Yike City."

Lu Fan said, "I am strict about work; tasks I assign must have a response and be settled, with clear accountability—no perfunctoriness, no negligence."

Liu Qingyun responded, "Please rest assured, Secretary; I will strictly follow the leaders' requirements, conscientiously fulfill my duties, and with the spirit of finishing today's work today, I will closely follow every task and instruction you give."

"Hmm, get me a list of the staff in the Provincial Party Committee General Office; I want to understand each comrade's 'characteristics' in detail."

"Understood, Secretary; I will send it to you as soon as possible."

"You go ahead and get busy; from today on, you will be responsible for coordinating my work."

Liu Qingyun said with determined eyes, "Thank you for your trust, Secretary; I will certainly not disappoint you!"

Chen Haohao's office was arranged opposite Lu Fan's; although he had no official post or rank, it did not hinder him from quickly getting into work, proactively liaising with relevant departments and smoothing out procedures.

Seeing this energetic "newcomer," the head of the Comprehensive Division Two wore a look of helplessness, having already prepared to "give up his seat," for everyone knows Division Two is dedicated to serving the deputy secretaries.

As the workday was ending, Lu Fan appeared at the Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee; those planning to leave early immediately "slipped" back to the office and began handling business properly.

Zhou Xiang followed Lu Fan into the office and reported, "Secretary, these are the recent documents that need prompt processing."

Lu Fan nodded and said, "Let me take a look first; have Du Wenlong and Lin Changping come over."

"Understood, Secretary; I'll go right away."

Soon, the two deputy secretaries pushed the door in, their faces filled with uncontrollable smiles.

Lu Fan smiled and asked, "How do you feel about the Grassland Discipline Inspection Committee?"

Du Wenlong, face full of worry, said, "Mixed bag of good and bad; relying on them for anti-corruption is like killing the chicken to get the eggs, draining the pond to catch the fish, drinking poison to quench thirst, and eating tomorrow's grain today!"

Lu Fan furrowed his brows and said, "The problem is that serious? Is the whole unit rotten?"

Lin Changping added, "Secretary, it can be said that a large portion of the personnel are abnormal, having lost their original aspirations and mission. But there are also cadres willing to work, such as the First Supervision Office; overall, it's relatively good, and Deputy Director Sun Yu is a capable person."

Lu Fan naturally knew this situation; the First Supervision Office was the team left behind by Lu Yao, his sister, who is selective about cadres; those she used can be trusted.

Lu Fan asked again, "First, tell me about the situation of the Grassland Discipline Inspection Committee."

Du Wenlong reported, "The internal functional departments include: General Office, Organization Department, Propaganda Department, Policy and Regulations Research Office, Party Conduct and Integrity Supervision Office, Letters and Calls Office, Case Supervision and Management Office, First to Tenth Supervision and Inspection Offices, Case Adjudication Office, Discipline Inspection and Supervision Cadres Supervision Office, Organs Party Committee, Retired Cadres Bureau, Poverty Alleviation Work Headquarters, Media Convergence Center, Big Data Center, Information Center, Integrity Education Center, Organs Comprehensive Support Center, Network Affairs and Audio-Visual Education Center, Party Conduct and Integrity Construction Research Center, with a total staff of 435."

"There are 68 official vehicles in total: 39 sedans, 12 travel/business vehicles, 15 off-road vehicles, and 2 large buses. The operational funds allocated by the finance bureau amount to 45 million yuan."

After a moment of reflection, Lu Fan said unusually firmly, "Clench your fist and strike out—only then will you have strength. Wenlong, Changping, we must dare to face problems directly, bravely correct mistakes, adhere to the principle of 'blade inward,' take real action, and with the clearest attitude, strongest measures, and most decisive actions, impartially clean house, continuously purifying the Grassland Discipline Inspection and Supervision Cadres!"

"I suggest the Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee, with the spirit of 'blade inward,' excising corrupt flesh, and self-revolution, carry out an education rectification and special governance, focusing on missing faith, political wavering, abandoning principles, improper conduct, power abuse, and integrity lapses, to dig deep into the root causes, clear out the bottom, resolutely eliminate 'two-faced people,' firmly prevent 'under-the-lamp darkness,' and with zero tolerance remove the bad apples; let the strict requirements reach every discipline inspection and supervision cadre, striving to forge a loyal, clean, responsible, daring and skilled at struggle discipline inspection and supervision iron army!"

Du Wenlong agreed, "Special rectification is absolutely necessary; given the current situation and the needs of the struggle, we must see it through to the end with real swords and spears, excising corrupt flesh; through rectification we will set direction, establish rules, improve conduct, and strengthen immunity, so that all kinds of stubborn illnesses can be treated and purified, thereby forming combat effectiveness!"

Lin Changping said, "Through strict inspection and rectification, we will discover a batch of prominent problems, deal with a batch of people, and let the cadres of the Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee undergo a bone-deep, revolutionary forging and a soul-deep spiritual baptism; see if political ability, fighting spirit, professional skills, and work conduct can be enhanced; otherwise, victory in the anti-corruption struggle cannot be achieved."

Lu Fan nodded and said, "Alright, that's settled; Du Wenlong will draft the special rectification plan, and Lin Changping will fully cooperate. In this rectification, we must put 'strict' first and see it through to the end, face problems directly, take real action, drag out all the demons and monsters, judge those who should be judged, and not fear a lack of manpower—if we are short-handed, we can draw from the grassroots or hold examinations. When you have time, you two should go to each city and league to select a batch of capable cadres to come to the Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee to fill the vacancies."

After reaching consensus, Lu Fan said, "Later I will meet Deputy Director Sun Yu of the First Supervision Office; if he is indeed good, let him directly serve as director of the First Supervision Office. As for Zhou Xiang, adjust him to Zhengke Level and assign him to the General Office mainly to serve me. Also, screen out usable personnel; you two discuss and produce a cadre adjustment plan."

Du Wenlong replied, "Okay, I will quickly get opinions together with Changping."

Lu Fan asked again, "The Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee still lacks a deputy secretary; we need to fill it soon. If you have suitable candidates, please recommend them promptly. How about Yun Zhangsheng?"

Du Wenlong said dismissively, "I feel he is the biggest worm in the Discipline Inspection Committee; his reputation below is also quite poor. I have never seen such a discipline inspection cadre—arrogant, domineering, corrupt, bribe-taking, decadent and depraved, with serious problems in his personal conduct. I heard that when promoting cadres, one must pass his integrity appraisal; otherwise, the Organization Department's investigation would be useless."

Lu Fan believed Du Wenlong and said, "Then there's nothing more to say; we must take him down decisively! Du Wenlong, you personally handle this case; you must obtain solid evidence and make it an ironclad case."

Lin Changping reminded, "Secretary, his surname is Yun, and he is an important figure; if we take him down, will it scare the snakes?"

Lu Fan said solemnly, "Take him down! No need for any scruples; I want to scare the snakes and shake the mountains! Also, pick out one or two municipal party secretaries or important department heads to talk with for one or two weeks. If we cannot obtain evidence, we can send them back, then invite them again after a while, with a better attitude, and keep going back and forth to let them fall into disorder and suspect each other, for forts are often broken from within."

Du Wenlong laughed, "Secretary, this move is brilliant; give them a windless wave, let them stay at the Discipline Inspection Committee for a while—who knows if they will confess problems? At least this person will be 'not clean'!"

The three were chatting enthusiastically when Zhou Xiang came back in, and Deputy Provincial Governor Zhao Ziren arrived for a visit.

Lu Fan said to the two, "Ziren and I are party school classmates; you go ahead and get busy, I will meet him."

Du Wenlong asked, "Secretary, should we have a few drinks tonight?"

Lu Fan smiled, "We'll see later; you first talk with Sun Yu, I'll see him tomorrow."

Soon, Deputy Provincial Governor Zhao Ziren came in holding a box of tea, smiling broadly and saying, "Secretary, we can again 'fight' in a trench together!"

Lu Fan stood to greet him, personally brewed tea, and smiled, "You came, you came; still these formalities? With me, you needn't be polite—I didn't expect to work in the grasslands either; now I'm completely in the dark, you are a 'local resident,' so please look after me more!"

Zhao Ziren said generously, "Whenever I can contribute, just give the order!"

Lu Fan suddenly said, "Ziren, I have one thing I don't understand; before coming to the grasslands, many people warned me that this place is very responsible, that I must speak and act cautiously, and protect myself; I really can't figure it out—is the grasslands a dragon pool and tiger's den?"

Zhao Ziren knew this was Lu Fan testing him; he had already decided before coming to stand in the same trench with Lu Fan, so he spoke directly: "The grasslands are an important energy and resource production area, with large amounts of coal, oil, natural gas, rare earths, etc.; combined with historical ties, related industries have become important 'battlefields' for corrupt elements. As the anti-corruption struggle continues to deepen, the number of major cases over 100 million yuan in the grasslands has reached 16 digits, ranking first nationwide, but I believe the true iceberg has not yet surfaced, and the huge interest chain has not yet been fully exposed…"