Pursued by the Heavenly Dao, first level up in the courtyard.

Seeing that no one objected, Sha Ruijin said, "Those who agree to freeze the list, please raise your hands."

As soon as Sha Ruijin finished speaking, he glanced at Tian Guofu.

Tian Guofu seemed not to see it and did not raise his hand first.

Although Sha Ruijin is the number one leader in Handong, he has no one to rely on.

Sha Ruijin originally thought Tian Guofu was one of his men, but the other party didn't give him any face.

The list of 125 people was the result of a compromise reached through a struggle among Gao Yuliang, Wu Chunlin, Li Dakang, and others.

Sha Ruijin's suspension of the promotion of 125 people is clearly aimed at Gao Yuliang, Li Dakang, and others.

Before Qi Bing and Qi Tongwei even joined Handong, the list was already finalized. Whether the 125 people on the list were promoted or not had nothing to do with Qi Bing and Qi Tongwei.

Sha Ruijin forced a smile and said, "Raise your hand if you oppose freezing the list."

Qi Bing was the first to raise his hand, followed by Qi Tongwei, and then Tian Guofu, Wu Chunlin, Zhang Zhihai, and Wang Guangyao raised their hands in turn.

Seeing this, Sha Ruijin was furious but helpless. Of the eleven votes, six had already raised their hands, so it didn't matter whether the rest raised their hands or not.

Seeing the overall situation and the rules, Gao Yuliang, Li Dakang, and others raised their hands, and Sha Ruijin himself also raised his hand.

Zhang Zhihai from Xia Jun raised his hand, much to the surprise of Sha Ruijin, Li Dakang, Gao Yuliang, and others.

Although Xia Jun has one vote, under normal circumstances, his vote is almost always abstaining.

Sha Ruijin looked around: "Comrades, are there any other suggestions?"

Qi Bing said confidently, "Zhao Donglai knew about the 20 tons of gasoline stored at Dafeng Factory but failed to report it. He even assisted Dafeng Factory in hoarding gasoline. I personally propose that Zhao Donglai be suspended from his work and that he be thoroughly investigated."

Sha Ruijin was startled. Zhao Donglai had connections in Beicheng, and they were also his supporters in Handong.

Zhao Donglai, who works behind the scenes in Beicheng, was once a comrade-in-arms with Sha Ruijin's father-in-law, and they had a very good relationship.

Qi Bing had already figured out what Zhao Donglai had done, and he could produce evidence of Zhao's crimes at any time if he wanted to.

Although Sha Ruijin has veto power, he cannot veto the investigation of Zhao Donglai.

Li Dakang, who had always considered Zhao Donglai one of his own, immediately recounted many of Zhao Donglai's achievements.

Qi Bing said with a half-smile, "Comrade Li Dakang, if you are willing to vouch for Zhao Donglai, I can skip investigating Zhao Donglai."

Li Dakang quickly said, "Governor Qi, I agree to investigate Zhao Donglai."

Li Dakang, the renowned owner of Handong non-stick pans, doesn't want to take responsibility for anyone.

Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Li Dakang continued, "Governor Qi, Zhao Donglai is the director of the Jingzhou Bureau. Taking action against him now will inevitably affect the development of Jingzhou. Could we conduct a secret investigation?"

Qi Bing laughed and said, "I have always firmly believed in cleaning up before governing. Cleaning up Handong will be beneficial for attracting investment and development. GDP data only has reference value and not much practical value."

"No matter how much the GDP drops, as long as people's lives are not affected, there is no need to worry too much. Once the corrupt officials, unscrupulous merchants and tyrants in Handong are gone, Handong's future will surely be bright."

The result of raising hands to vote is self-evident.

With Qi Bing's own vote, plus the five votes from Qi Tongwei, Wu Chunlin, and others, the required number of votes was reached.

After the meeting ended and everyone left, Sha Ruijin asked Tian Guofu to go to his office.

"Comrade Guofu, why don't you support me?"

"Comrade Ruijin, I can't afford to offend Governor Qi."

"Comrade Guofu, I am Handong No. 1, and he is Handong No. 2."

"Comrade Ruijin, you can exercise your veto power."

Having decided to completely side with Qi Bing, Tian Guofu was unwilling to feign compliance with Sha Ruijin, fearing that Qi Bing would misunderstand him.

The people behind him all want him to support Qi Bing. If he goes against Qi Bing, he will not only offend the people behind him, but also Qi Bing.

Tian Guofu knew perfectly well that no matter how much Sha Ruijin was known as the number one in Handong, it was because Qi Bing didn't want to be the number one in Handong.

If Qi Bing wants to be number one in Handong, no one else can.

If Qi Bing had wanted to be promoted, he could have done so ten years ago.

Although Tian Guofu was half a rank lower than Sha Ruijin, he had the right to supervise Sha Ruijin.

Number One decides everything? Nobody takes that seriously.

If Number Two goes against Number One, even though Number One is the nominal boss, he will find it difficult to move an inch.

Number One is in charge of policy direction, Number Two is in charge of government affairs.

Qi Bing, the second-in-command, can find a legitimate reason to stop issuing various funds.

For example, the badminton court outside the main building has not been converted into a basketball court because Qi Bing has not provided funding.

Sha Ruijin likes to play basketball, and some people want to convert the badminton court into a basketball court.

Qi Bing said that the budget was tight and there was no extra money, so the basketball court project came to nothing.

Sha Ruijin's jurisdiction covers the entire Handong area, including overall planning, coordination of all parties, organization, propaganda, united front work, political and legal affairs, provincial discipline inspection, party committees at all levels, party schools, etc., and is in charge of the direction and ideology.

Qi Bing's jurisdiction covers the development and reform, science and technology, industry and information technology, police, civil affairs, justice, finance, natural resources, culture and tourism, health and wellness of Handong, etc. He is mainly responsible for the development and security of Handong.

Sarrijn can make major investments, but he doesn't manage the money.

Qi Bing controlled the official funds of Handong. Whether or not Sha Ruijin provided the funds for major investments was entirely up to him.

Sha Ruijin wants to convert the badminton court into a basketball court. No problem, he'll pay for it himself.

Qi Bing, who does things his own way, loves to make things difficult for Sha Ruijin.

Sha Ruijin, the No. 1 official in Handong, only has veto power, not decision-making power.

Sha Ruijin could veto Qi Bing's proposal, but Qi Bing could also use his majority of votes to crush Sha Ruijin.

Qi Tongwei and Tian Guofu collaborated to send Zhao Donglai, who had committed numerous crimes, to prison.

A few days later, during a meeting, Sha Ruijin suggested promoting Yi Xuexi.

Qi Bing bluntly stated, "Comrade Sha Ruijin, I've looked into Yi Xuexi. He has no notable achievements. Personally, I don't think he deserves a two-rank promotion, and even if he were promoted just one rank, he wouldn't deserve it!"

Sha Ruijin was somewhat angry: "Comrade Yi Xuexi, you were already a section chief twenty-five years ago. You've worked diligently and conscientiously for twenty-five years, never taking bribes or embezzling, yet you haven't been promoted. Is that reasonable?"

Qi Bing said, "From what I understand, Lü Liang of the Anti-Corruption Bureau of the Procuratorate is not only incorruptible, but also has strong principles in handling cases... He is already in his fifties and is still a division chief. He should be promoted."

"Comrade Qi Bing, the selection of the head of the anti-corruption bureau has been decided by the higher-ups."

"Then I propose that Comrade Lü Liang be appointed as the deputy chief prosecutor, since the procuratorate is currently short of a deputy chief prosecutor."

"The matter of Comrade Lü Liang's promotion can be discussed later. Now let's discuss the promotion of Comrade Yi Xuexi."

"I personally oppose promoting Yi Xuexi, and I support Comrade Lü Liang to serve as deputy chief prosecutor."

Zhang Zhihai took out a handful of sunflower seeds and started cracking them open by himself.

Qi Bing casually said, "Old Zhang, give me some."

Zhang Zhihai stood up, walked over to Qi Bing, and gave him a handful of sunflower seeds.

Enraged, Sha Ruijin then had everyone vote to decide.

The result was obvious: even if Li Dakang wanted to curry favor with Sha Ruijin, he would only get four votes.

Gao Yuliang abstained, leaving Qi Bing with six votes.

Sha Ruijin, who had no voting power, was unable to upgrade Yi Xuexi.

Qi Bing, seizing the opportunity, proposed that Lü Liang be appointed as the deputy chief prosecutor.

Looking at Wu Chunlin and Tian Guofu, who had raised their hands in approval, Sha Ruijin felt as if his world had collapsed.

Strictly speaking, Wu Chunlin and Tian Guofu were both his subordinates.

Although Tian Guofu had the right to supervise him, Tian Guofu was truly under Sha Ruijin's control.

The two people who originally belonged to him both voted for Qi Bing. Sha Ruijin became angrier and angrier, but there was nothing he could do.

There was a time when, relying on his connections, he was the one who called the shots wherever he served.

Even now, as the number one in Handong, he is beaten so badly by number two in Handong that he has no chance to fight back.

Lü Liang was promoted from deputy bureau chief to deputy chief prosecutor, a promotion of only half a rank, but his power and authority increased exponentially.