The game of power begins with the police officers at the local police station.

Chen Shi said loudly, "The meeting is starting. I've gathered everyone here today for a meeting. Don't go out. You don't even know who your own team leader is."

Let me introduce myself. My name is Chen Shi. I used to be the deputy director of Fushan Town Police Station. I met with Captain Li and Captain Zhao quite a few times when we had meetings, so we all know each other. I also know Wang Tao and Liu Feng from before. This is the first time I'm meeting the other people.

Starting today, I officially assume the position of Captain of the Public Security Management Brigade. After Captain Qin's retirement, the position of Captain of the Public Security Management Brigade will be vacant for two or three months. During these two or three months, Deputy Captain Li will be in charge of the work.

Next, I would like to invite Deputy Captain Li to give a report on the work done over the past two months.

Chen Shi looked at Li Zhi and said, "Now that I've taken office, if you don't report to me proactively, then report to everyone."

Li Zhi was very unhappy that Chen Shi would ask him to report on his work at the meeting, but Chen Shi was the team leader and had no choice in where he was asked to report.

He said in a deep voice, "After Captain Qin retired, I took charge of the work of the Public Security Management Brigade. These past two or three months have been the end of the year and the Spring Festival, when migrant workers returned to their hometowns, which increased the personnel costs for public security management. Under my leadership, the transition was smooth, and there were no fights or brawls in the county. I received commendation from the bureau leaders, especially Director Song, who was in charge of the Public Security Management Brigade, and he affirmed my performance in leading the work."

They talked a lot of official jargon, but didn't do a single concrete task.

Chen Shi listened patiently, then gently tapped the table, his sharp eyes turning to Li Zhi.

"Deputy Captain Li, are you finished?"

"Captain Chen, are you done?"

Chen Shi said loudly, "In the future, when reporting on your work, don't go on and on, don't talk nonsense, talk about specific things, what you have done, clearly and one by one."

"I didn't care how you reported your work before, but from today onwards, I want to hear what you've done for the county's security, not some irrelevant stuff."

Li Zhi looked grim, almost saying his own name, and all eyes were on him.

The first thing Chen Shi did upon taking office was to target Li Zhi, to see if Li Zhi would be the one to get rid of him or if he would be the one to kick him out.

If the public security management brigade cannot achieve unity, how can it face its political enemies?

Chen Shi glanced at everyone: "Is there anyone else who wants to speak? If not, the meeting is adjourned."

Li Zhi glanced at Xu Wei, a police officer sitting in the first row, and Xu Wei called out, "Captain Chen, I have something to say."

Chen Shi looked at Xu Wei, who was around thirty years old and dark-skinned, and asked, "What's your name?"

Xu Wei

"Was this how you did it in your meetings before? You wanted to speak, but instead of raising your hand, you just shouted it out."

Xu Wei originally intended to embarrass Chen Shi, but unexpectedly, Chen Shi took the initiative and stood on the high ground.

"No, I only called out when I heard you say the meeting was over."

"Raise your hand, I can see you. This is the meeting rules. Go down and copy it ten times. Bring it to my office tomorrow morning."

Xu Wei's face darkened even more. He thought Chen Shi was young and easy to bully, but he didn't expect him to be so powerful. He seized the opportunity to beat Chen Shi when he was down, and Chen Shi didn't even have a chance to fight back.

The first rule of the meeting is: no loud noises. If you want to speak, raise your hand first.

Chen Shi stared at Xu Wei: "What do you want to say? Please speak."

"I just want to ask Captain Chen, do we have to wait for you to arrange our daily work, and then carry it out, and afterwards everyone has to report back to you?"

"When Captain Qin was in charge, did you always have to wait for his instructions before you went to carry them out?"

"No, the personnel of the Public Security Management Brigade are all responsible for their own areas. They just need to take care of their own areas."

"I did not issue any document to adjust the division of areas. Everything is being carried out according to the areas we were previously responsible for. Everyone here is a veteran police officer. Don't you know what your job is?"

As for reporting, you can report to the two deputy captains, and the two deputy captains will report to me, understand?

This is to tell Xu Wei that he is not yet qualified to report to me.

"Any more questions?"

"That's all." Xu Wei thought Chen Shi had just taken office and didn't know much about the public security management brigade, so he was trying to make things difficult for him.

I thought it was still like being in a police station, where all officers were entitled to report to the station chief or deputy station chief.

Seeing that Chen Shi is young but shrewd and doesn't seem to be trying to monopolize power, it's clear that there's going to be a fight between these two deputy captains.

Chen Shi saw through Xu Wei's little scheme at a glance: if he made all the police officers report to him, he would sideline the two deputy directors.

This would push Zhao Fanglin towards Li Zhi, and the two of them would join forces to deal with him.

Regardless of whether you two are Song Youming's people, there can only be one captain. Even brothers from the same mother fight to the death for the position, let alone two unrelated people.

Cooperation is possible when interests align, but conflict is inevitable when interests diverge. What Chen Shi needs to do now is to keep Zhao Fanglin in check and strike at Li Zhi.

Chen Shi announced loudly, "Meeting adjourned."

Back in my office, I had just sat down when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in"

Zhao Fanglin pushed open the office door and walked in. This deputy captain, who was almost forty years old, had been in the position for five years and longed to be promoted, but had not had the opportunity yet.

Qin Qiang finally retired and tried to find connections everywhere, but none of his connections were as strong as Li Zhi's. Li Zhi was Song Youming's confidant, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, Li Zhi would become the captain.

But then Chen Shi appeared out of nowhere, and he was happy for a while. As long as Li Zhi didn't take the position, it didn't matter who was in charge.

With a broad smile, he said, "Team Leader Chen, I've come to report to you."

Chen Shi stood up to greet him: "Captain Zhao, please have a seat."

I poured Zhao Fanglin a glass of water.

Zhao Fanglin sat down: "Captain Chen, I had something to do this morning and went out. I didn't know you were coming to take up your post today. If I had known, I would have been in the team to welcome you."

"Work is important. I'm just a small team leader taking office; I don't have that kind of grand presence."

"You are my captain. Whether others welcome you or not is none of my business. I am your subordinate and it is my duty to welcome you."

I'd like to arrange for some officers from my team to host a welcome dinner for you tonight.

Chen Shi looked at Zhao Fanglin: "Captain Zhao, there's no need for a welcome dinner. I have a dinner engagement tonight. We can have a couple of drinks another day."

Zhao Fanglin's eyes darted around; he realized this was an attempt to win him over. Seizing the opportunity, he quickly said, "Okay, I'll arrange it when you're free in a couple of days."

After chatting for a while, Zhao Fanglin got up and left.

Chen Shi wouldn't get too close to Zhao Fanglin until he figured out who Zhao Fanglin was working for.

On second thought, the person behind him probably wasn't very capable. If he didn't fight his way out, the captain's position would most likely belong to Li Zhi.

Zhao Fanglin is also a deputy captain, and he is younger than Li Zhi, so he has an advantage. If he has a strong background, he shouldn't have been squeezed out by Li Zhi.

If Li Zhi and Zhao Fanglin are both Song Youming's men, then they can be manipulated into conflict over the captain's recommended candidate.

Why recommend Li Zhi but not Zhao Fanglin? Zhao Fanglin must have his reasons.

There was another knock on the door, and Chen Shi called out, "Come in."

Liu Feng pushed open the door and came in with a big smile on his face, holding two packets of tea in his hand.

"Captain Chen, you've just taken office, and we haven't prepared any tea in your office yet. We don't know if you prefer raw or ripe tea, so we've put both in your office."

Chen Shi was very satisfied with Liu Feng's meticulousness; he thought Liu Feng was the right person to be a secretary. If he were the county magistrate, he would appoint Liu Feng as his secretary.