Nominal: The pinnacle of power began in the sixth province of Handong.

Chapter 55 Xia Qing's Fate

As the new day begins, the Hantong Provincial Party Committee compound starts operating as usual.

Xia Qing listened to the reports from the vice ministers in the ministerial meeting room.

The current research is nearing completion, the data on the use of positions has been largely compiled, and a number of outstanding cadres in economic affairs have been identified and included in the talent pool.

The next step is to wait for the preliminary data from the Department of Human Resources and Social Security to be available, then we can apply to the higher authorities for a pilot program of parallel job titles and ranks.

Thunderstorm Report Guide:

"Recently, the Cadre Supervision Department has received a lot of disciplinary documents from the Discipline Inspection Commission. In addition to ordinary warnings and demerits, eleven people have been expelled from the Party and dismissed from public office in two weeks, including two bureau-level officials."

Xia Qing nodded and said:

"The disciplinary committee's efforts are very strong, which shows that they have found the right direction."

Another deputy minister in charge of Party building, Liu Mingsheng, said with a solemn expression:

"Minister, during our investigation, we also discovered a serious problem: there are quite a few sick officials in Handong."

Xia Qing frowned.

"Sick officials" refers to cadres who are promoted while having problems. They are a chronic disease and a malignant sore in the ranks, which greatly damages the image of the cadre team among the masses and must be eliminated.

Xia Qing believed that before he came to Handong, there must have been a lot of problems with promoting people with problems in Handong, which was run by Zhao Lichun.

The deputy ministers of the Organization Department who experienced the Zhao Lichun era must be well aware of these matters.

The fact that he didn't bring it up for so long, but only brought it up almost two months after Xia Qing's arrival, raises the question: was his purpose to believe that Xia Qing could solve the problem of the sick official, or was he eager to distance himself from Zhao Lichun?

It's worth pondering.

Xia Qing remained calm and did not answer the question. Instead, she asked Chen Hui, the vice minister in charge of talent:

"Minister Chen, has the new talent recruitment plan in the economic field been announced and implemented?"

Chen Hui had clearly put a lot of effort into talent recruitment. Hearing Xia Qing ask about it, he proudly replied:

"Reporting to the Minister: The plan has generated a tremendous social response since its announcement. We have already signed contracts with 25 master's degree holders and 9 doctoral degree holders, all of whom are scarce talents in the economic field. In addition, two Category B talents and one Category A talent have expressed their intention to contact us..."

Xia Qing was overjoyed and subconsciously slapped the table, saying:

"Great! Even Category A and B talents are interested in participating in the recruitment program? We must pay close attention. We can even relax the policy privately. We must keep these top talents in Handong! If all else fails, I'll personally receive them!"

"Understood, Minister." Chen Hui's face lit up with pride after receiving Xia Qing's confirmation.

Xia Qing took a sip of tea with satisfaction. The talent recruitment work was going much more smoothly than he had imagined. In this way, there would be no shortage of people to help with the economic transformation of Handong.

Gathering talent first is always a good idea!

Xia Qing hesitated for a moment, then turned to Liu Mingsheng, who was in charge of Party building, and asked seriously:

"What is the condition of the sick official?"

"Besides the batch of corrupt officials that Secretary Sha froze and transferred to the Discipline Inspection Commission and the Procuratorate, there are clues from the public about other corrupt officials, from the prefecture-level cities to the townships and streets..." Liu Mingsheng said hesitantly.

So, does this mean that the sick officials have spread throughout the entire Handong region?

The chilling reality made Xia Qing gasp.

These numerous officials are distributed across various government agencies, universities, enterprises, and even city, county, district, township, and street offices in Handong.

What a terrible blow this is to the image of the cadre team in Handong, and even to the image of the cadre team nationwide!

What will the common people think when they find out?

Xia Qing's face was ashen, and he said in a deep voice:

"What's going on here? So many corrupt officials—I believe this couldn't have happened overnight. They were promoted despite their problems; were the 'four requirements' for promotion actually implemented? Were the procedures for motion, recommendation, evaluation, and discussion compliant? Why weren't we rectified promptly after receiving relevant leads? Allowing them to remain in their posts with these problems for so long, and then promoting them—how much resentment has this planted in the hearts of the people? What a blow this will be to our image!"

The vice ministers looked at each other with bitter expressions, shook their heads, and remained silent.

Xia Qing noticed something amiss.

Judging from the vice ministers' evasive and helpless expressions, what else could it be but a mess left by Zhao Lichun?

Thinking of this, Xia Qing couldn't help but grit her teeth.

Zhao Lichun, oh Zhao Lichun.

You've built your own political empire in Handong, embezzled and amassed wealth, but that's not enough.

As a result, the cadre team in Handong was also corrupted.

In less than a month of research, we have received so many questions and feedback regarding the patients.

There are many more that haven't been exposed, and we don't know how many more there are.

Xia Qing thought for a moment, then suddenly remembered something and asked:

Are there any corrupt officials at the provincial or ministerial level?

He was eager to know if Gao Yuliang, Qi Tongwei, and others had left any incriminating evidence in the Organization Department's records.

Lei Yu's answer left Xia Qing with a mixed feeling of relief, though she couldn't quite describe it as disappointment.

"Minister, we have no authority to record the problems of provincial and ministerial-level leaders, nor will they have any problems."

Lei Yu deliberately emphasized the words "There won't be any problems," which sounded somewhat ridiculous to Xia Qing.

Regardless of the circumstances, a sick official is always the first problem the Organization Department needs to solve.

If this task isn't done well, everything else is just empty talk.

Therefore, Xia Qing understood that she could no longer remain detached from the outside world.

If Xia Qing doesn't take the initiative to intervene, the situation will become uncontrollable once the illness of these officials spreads.

If things go wrong, it could backfire, leaving you in a difficult position, forced to contract the disease, and leading you down a dead end where you make one mistake after another.

Thinking of all this, Xia Qing looked around and said with utmost solemnity:

"If I were to conduct a purge of sick officials before the end of the year, would you support me?"

The vice ministers were taken aback for a moment, but quickly realized what was happening.

Investigating and identifying officials with health problems is a core responsibility of the Organization Department.

If done well, it's a great achievement.

Moreover, Xia Qing's words carried a subtle warning.

These vice ministers were all promoted and retained during Zhao Lichun's era.

To say that they had absolutely no connection with Zhao Lichun would be something even these vice ministers themselves wouldn't believe, let alone Xia Qing.

Supporting Xia Qing's investigation now is the best opportunity to proactively sever ties with Zhao Lichun and pledge allegiance to Xia Qing.

If Xia Qing hesitated or held opposing views, dealing with a deputy minister would be a piece of cake.

the most important is.

Xia Qing's background is something the Zhao family can't possibly exploit.

On one side is the Xia family, which is at the height of its power, and on the other side is the Zhao family, which is in decline.

The choice seems self-evident!

Now Xia Qing has chosen to extend an olive branch and has decided to take the initiative to make a big splash in Handong.

This is the perfect time to choose sides!

The vice ministers exchanged glances and nodded to each other.

Then, Lei Yu made a resolute statement:

"Minister Xia, we will all follow your instructions. Please do as you say!"

Seeing this, Xia Qing said with satisfaction:

"Good, in my opinion, the opportunity to propose an investigation is just around the corner."

Lei Yu was puzzled by the tunnel:

"Minister, what do you mean? Don't we need to get a proposal and then submit it to Secretary Gao and Secretary Sha for review...?"

"No, we can't bring this up ourselves. That would be too obvious and attract unnecessary attention," Xia Qing said confidently, waving her hand.

"We need to seize the opportunity at the Standing Committee meeting to bring up the investigation work while others are still talking about it... I think this opportunity won't be long."

Lei Yu was still puzzled and pressed for an explanation:

"Please provide further instructions, Minister."

Xia Qing said, both annoyed and amused:

"The results of the first round of inspections by the provincial environmental protection inspection team will be discussed at the meeting soon."