Chapter 640: Adjustment: The Tiger Leaves the Mountain

On the morning of August 15, Li Xingyuan convened the Secretary Office meeting to brew personnel adjustments.

Although the Secretary Office meeting is not a decision‑making body, cannot decide major issues, and cannot replace the Standing Committee, before the Five‑person Group meeting and the Standing Committee are convened, the principal secretary and two deputy secretaries fully exchange views; if disagreements are large, they keep communicating until none remain, so whatever the "Secretary Office meeting" decides is considered settled.

When Luo Shiyu and Lu Fan arrived at the office, Li Xingyuan said: "According to the report from the Organization Department, there are currently 18 vacant provincial‑managed posts that need to be filled promptly. Today's meeting is to discuss candidates; let's start with the head of the Provincial Judicial Department."

Luo Shiyu said: "The Judicial Department has just gone through a corruption 'nest case'; the leadership team suffered a devastating blow, and public reaction has been extremely negative. We need to appoint a head who is upright, of proper conduct, and strongly principled, to strengthen the judicial administration team and forge a hard‑core judicial administration iron army. I suggest sending Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Political and Legal Committee Huang Shouxiang. This comrade has strong party principles, is upright, adheres to principles at work, can strictly demand of himself, dares to fight unhealthy trends, never seeks fame or profit, does not count personal gains or losses, and enjoys high prestige within the Grassland Political‑Legal system."

Li Xingyuan nodded, looked at Lu Fan and said: "You have served as Organization Department Head, with rich experience in selecting and appointing personnel; share your view."

Lu Fan thought for a moment and began: "Governing the world rests on personnel; everything else is merely branches and leaves. Selecting and appointing people is important and sensitive, with a wide scope and great impact; the masses of cadres pay close attention, so it must be handled with utmost caution."

Choosing the right people and appointing them correctly hinges on fairness and integrity: selecting people based on matters, matching them to posts, ensuring person‑post fit, and comprehensively weighing a cadre's expertise, experience, character, temperament, and suitability for the position to improve accuracy and scientific basis of selection.

During my time in the Grassland, I have heard some unfavorable doubts: at various levels, organizations exhibit varying degrees of nepotism, talent covering up virtue, and performance covering up virtue in personnel selection. Some mediocre, opportunistic individuals repeatedly receive promotion, while truly virtuous, diligent cadres are neglected, causing cadres to feel injustice; we must continue to exert great effort to correct and reverse this trend.

I am in charge of Party building and discipline inspection, which will be my next focus. Organizational personnel work must overcome selfish thoughts, eliminate interference and resistance, not let personal feelings ruin public affairs, not trade principles, and genuinely resolve issues of cliques, small factions, and small groups.

The Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee strictly safeguards integrity, and those who are politically weak, whose stance is wavering on major issues; those who defy rules and discipline, cling to personal patronage, engage in profit transfers; those who form factions, shirk responsibilities, fear accountability; those with many problems and who fail integrity checks, must not be appointed, with a focus on preventing 'promotion while ill.'

The Judicial Department is currently in a special period; strengthening the leadership team is indeed necessary, and appointing the right head is crucial. Selecting the worthy without avoiding relatives, I would like to recommend our Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee Deputy Secretary Yun Zhangsheng. He has served as Deputy Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Committee for nearly ten years; both of you as secretaries are already familiar with his situation, so I will not elaborate. I believe Comrade Zhangsheng can completely reverse the Judicial Department's adverse situation and comprehensively improve the judicial system's work style.

The vote is tied 1:1, requiring Li Xingyuan to make the final call, but he did not state a position, instead saying: "Since your opinions differ, bring it to the Standing Committee for discussion and hear the comrades' views. Lu Fan, the discipline‑inspection system still has several key vacancies, especially the Qing City Discipline Inspection Committee Secretary and the Provincial Inspection Team Leader; what specific suggestions do you have?"

Lu Fan replied: "Discipline‑inspection and supervision cadres stand at the forefront of anti‑corruption and integrity, bearing the important responsibility of upholding Party and governmental discipline, advancing clean governance, and fighting corruption; selecting and appointing cadres must be handled with double caution."

I have been in the Grassland only a month; honestly, my work scope and contacts are limited, and I have only seen the Discipline Inspection Committee Secretaries of each city once or twice, so rashly recommending cadres can lead to issues like 'sharpening the sword at the last moment,' 'urgent on‑the‑spot appointments,' 'misjudging people,' and 'promoting while ill.'

Assessing cadres is not a simple task. As the saying goes, you may know a person's appearance but not their heart, which already shows the difficulty of cadre selection. My view is to pause filling the discipline‑inspection vacancies for now; I plan to spend two weeks touring each city, bringing the 'camera' closer to understand cadres, ensuring the image is more detailed and clear, truly seeing whether frontline cadres are willing to take responsibility, act bravely, and can step forward in critical moments and demonstrate skill in danger.

The supervising leader disagreed, and Li Xingyuan could not force the issue, so he said: "The type of person you select becomes the weather‑van, shaping cadre conduct and even Party style. To lay the foundation for the Party's cause and recommend the virtuous for the people's welfare, we must assess accurately, tighten the standards of fair selection, and with fair people and fair methods choose loyal, clean, responsible individuals. So plan quickly; these posts should not remain vacant for long."

Regarding candidates for other posts, Lu Fan offered no opinion, stating he would obey the organization's decision, mainly because he has no suitable people at hand.

On August 16, Li Xingyuan convened the Five‑person Group meeting to study personnel matters and submit topics to the Standing Committee.

At the meeting, Lu Fan's attitude was unusually resolute; he insisted on recommending Yun Zhangsheng as head of the Provincial Judicial Department, even demanding that he be 'driven out' of the Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee.

After the meeting, Lu Fan went to Secretary Li Xingyuan's office and subtly indicated that if Yun Zhangsheng does not leave, problems may arise, with some clues already involving him. Moving him out of the Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee is actually a form of protection for the cadre.

On August 20, the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee held a meeting to hear a report on cleaning up and standardizing the Provincial deliberation and coordination bodies, to review the 'Implementation Plan for Advancing the National Cultural Digitization Strategy,' and to arrange related work; Secretary Li Xingyuan presided over the meeting.

When discussing personnel issues, Organization Department Head Li Yuening reported the vacant posts and nominated candidates.

As soon as the words finished, Lu Fan directly stated his stance: 'Go all‑out' to support Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee Yun Zhangsheng as Party Committee Secretary and head of the Provincial Judicial Department.

Perhaps Li Xingyuan's 'communication' had an effect; Yun Zhangsheng's appointment was unanimously approved, but Yun Shuo, Yun Junjie and others looked solemn and somewhat dissatisfied.

Lu Fan didn't care; he had no intention of colluding with them, so there was no need for false politeness, and sooner or later the face would be torn.

The final agenda item concerned Chen Hangjia's appointment; Executive Deputy Provincial Governor Gu Yunhao 'caused a stir,' saying: "I think this matter should be handled cautiously; we don't need to create trouble for ourselves. Chen Hangjia is a person, not a god, yet he has become a man‑made myth. What he did as County Party Committee Secretary is exactly what a Party‑member leader should do—normal duty performance. Some people act flamboyantly, others are silent as gold."

As County Party Committee Secretary, he holds power and a platform granted by the Party and the people; correctly exercising that power is his normal duty and obligation. On that platform, his achievements were recognized, and the superiors bestowed all the honors they should. After leaving, over‑promotion risks exploiting the honor, sliding toward the opposite of honor: turning him into a public intellectual, commercializing, municipal‑izing him, making him a card for certain forces.

That is unacceptable and may even lead to trouble. The honor comes from the Party and government; both media coverage and self‑promotion must be moderate. Many who receive such honors keep a low profile and handle it discreetly. That is the proper attitude toward honor. Once the honor is commercialized and publicized, it also shows that the recipient is unsuitable for such honors, violating the original purpose of granting them.

There is an old saying: 'Peaches and plums do not speak, yet a path forms beneath them!' Grandiose displays of charity, drums and gongs blaring, using the name of public welfare to consume honor—this itself warrants vigilance!

Deputy Provincial Governor Yun Junjie said: "Does such personnel selection follow the rules? What is the higher‑level attitude? I think it must be considered carefully; after all, he voluntarily left the organization and became a public figure. Upon re‑entering the system, can he adapt to work? Can he keep a normal mindset? Those are all questions. Bringing him in could make his affairs a hot news topic, possibly sparking public opinion. Personally, I see no need to add unnecessary trouble."

Seeing Political and Legal Committee Secretary Yang Jiale about to speak, Lu Fan jumped in first: "I don't quite agree with Comrade Junjie's view. Properly handling supervision from the organization, society, and the masses, and being accustomed to working and living under a 'magnifying glass' and 'spotlight,' is a test of a leader's Party character and organizational awareness, and also an intrinsic requirement for cadres to innovate in the new era."

Regarding the re‑activation of Comrade Chen Hangjia, I reported to the higher‑level Discipline Inspection Committee; Secretary Jiazhong gave strong support. His directive is that personnel selection must truly achieve 'across the seas and lands, appointing the worthy,' uphold the cause above all, focus on selecting people based on matters and professional competence, and ensure that the good cadres needed by the Party and the people are chosen and employed.

Fine, we've even brought Secretary Chen Jiazhong into the discussion; what more can anyone say? Although Yun Junjie and others resent Lu Fan's 'pressuring with power,' they dare not oppose further—what if Lu Fan is right? Moreover, it's just a tiny supervision office director; how big a splash could he make? Their opposition is merely an attempt to disgust Lu Fan.

On August 25, the Provincial Organization Department and the Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee jointly issued a document, approving special talent recruitment and appointing Comrade Chen Hangjia as Director of the Grassland Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee's Supervision Office Eight.

Now it's settled and nailed down; the internet erupted with excitement, and netizens began to anticipate Chen Hangjia's performance, hoping to see him 'slay all around,' a beautiful wish!