Behind the scenes

Chapter 1

1
Li Zimin never dreamed that he would "turn over and fall" in the election of the first meeting of the Tenth Municipal People's Congress, and it was so shameless to "turn over" and "fall" so thoroughly, it was really merciless.

Not only Li Zimin himself did not think of it, but even the 200 million people of Xianghan City and the provincial party committee that determined him as the only candidate for mayor did not think of it.However, what shouldn't have happened, still happened.

Before the election, it seemed so calm, with no signs of trouble.The election is scheduled for the last day of the five-day National People's Congress, and it is also the most critical day.At 08:30 in the morning, Li Zimin appeared on the rostrum of the conference on time.He sat in the middle of the second row.In the middle of the first row are Gu Yishun, Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee, and Feng Dachun, Director of the Municipal People's Congress.Before going up to the rostrum, Gu Yishun was still holding his hand in the lounge next to the rostrum, "Don't worry, Zimin, the election will be fine. I know there are several people who are fighting for that The deputy mayor of the difference will not involve you." Looking at the smiling secretary of the municipal party committee, he smiled and nodded without saying anything.

At the beginning of the meeting, the leader of the scrutiny team and its members were first raised by a show of hands.Among the members of the voting monitoring team, he saw Liu Yunna's face that he didn't want to see.But there was a smile on his face, and he knew that this smile was definitely not for him, but for Liu Rong, the executive deputy mayor who was sitting beside him.He knew their relationship was not ordinary.

The vote scrutiny team began to work, counting the official people's representatives present at the meeting over and over again, and the people attending the meeting and other staff were strictly invited outside the electoral area. Responsible for the people's representatives on the rostrum.She looks very young, not beautiful, but very attractive. This 44-year-old woman is the general manager of the city's No. [-] Construction Company, and she is also a very famous figure in Xianghan City.She put the red ballot in front of Li Zimin's table, and gave him another look with inexplicable eyes. That look, without friendship and feminine tenderness, made Li Zimin feel a kind of coldness that he had never felt before. , He has known her for several years, but this is really the first time he has seen and felt this kind of gaze, and his heart can't help but move.

After the ballots were distributed, the leader of the ballot monitoring team made some specific requirements, and then the representatives began to mark the ballots.There are four ballots in four colors.The red ones are for the election of mayors and deputy mayors. Among them, one mayor is equal, and there are six deputy mayors, with a difference; five are elected, and one is missing.The pink ones are for the election of the director, deputy director and its standing committee members of the Municipal People's Congress; the yellow ones are for the election of the Chief Prosecutor of the Municipal Procuratorate; the green ones are for the election of the President of the Municipal Court.Among the four ballot papers, only the deputy mayor has a difference, and the rest are all equal, but there is a blank space behind the names of the equal number, and representatives can fill in other candidates, which is the power of the people's representatives.

Ticketing is fast.In other words, Li Zimin draws tickets very quickly.He drew a circle behind each candidate's name. He had been the mayor of Xianghan City for five years, and he reviewed a large number of documents every day. He circled quickly and relatively circled.He also drew a circle behind the name of mayoral candidate Li Zimin.Among the remaining deputy mayors, he agreed to the top five candidates for the deputy mayor selected by the organization according to the internal approval of the provincial party committee, and gave an X to the one recommended by the general assembly.He marked the votes early and looked down the rostrum, where more than 300 representatives were lowering their heads to mark the ballots.This is what is often called the solemn moment of the representatives of the people, exercising their power and deciding the fate of those on the ballot.He looked at Liu Rong beside him. Liu Rong had already crossed out the votes, but the red ballot for the mayor was placed at the bottom.Liu Rong smiled at him: "Mayor Li, you will definitely be elected."

Liu Rong's words suddenly made Li Zimin associate, and this association made him a little scared.Could it be that he will really make small moves behind?Will it be like what my secretary told me ten days ago?When he was about to get off work that day, his secretary Dong Yingjie walked up to him very carefully, "Mayor Li, I have something to report to you."

"Speak." He didn't even lift his head.Documents are still being reviewed.After a few minutes, the secretary still didn't speak, so he raised his head and found that Xiao Dong's face was very ugly and his eyes were worried, so he hurriedly said, "Tell me, what's the matter?"

Xiao Dong seemed to have made up his mind, "Mayor, I was at a friend's gathering last night, and a very reliable representative of the National People's Congress told me secretly that someone was soliciting votes for the mayor."

"What's so strange about this? The deputy mayor is elected by a contest!" He still looked down at the document after he finished speaking.

"No. It's not for the vice mayor, it's for the mayor."

"Fighting for the mayor?" He raised his head again. "The mayor is elected in equal numbers. The provincial party committee has already decided. There will be no contest. Did you hear me wrong?!"

"No. I was told that someone was soliciting votes to elect Vice Mayor Liu Rong as mayor and sent you down. He also said that these people are very powerful. A lot of work has been done, so you should be careful .”

"It will happen?" Li Zimin shook his head.He didn't believe that anyone would dare to do such a big thing, and he didn't believe that the competitor would be Liu Rong.

He and Liu Rong have cooperated for five years. Although they have a big age difference, they have always gotten along very well and cooperated well in work.In the last government election, Liu Rong was ranked last among the five deputy mayors, but he was smart, energetic, and had good political performance. Liu Rong was the last, but the youngest, as the executive deputy mayor and a member of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee. At that time, he was only 41 years old, making him the youngest executive deputy mayor in the province.In the following two years, Liu Rong played a very important role in the work of the entire government, and he always respected and actively supported the mayor.Before this change of term, Li Zimin had already talked to the provincial party committee assessment team about his idea of ​​stepping down and letting Liu Rong take over as the mayor, but the provincial party committee believed that Gu Yishun, secretary of the municipal party committee, had just been sent from the post of deputy secretary-general of the provincial party committee to exercise. , I am not familiar with the situation in Xianghan City, if the two top leaders are changed at the same time, it will be bad for work.Although Li Zimin is 55 years old, it will not be too late for another two years.In this way, the Provincial Party Committee did not agree with him, but continued to recommend him as mayor.Liu Rong is aware of these situations, and he will not and should not make any small moves.Li Zimin ignored the secretary's words, and instead criticized him: "You secretaries, don't spread such nonsensical things from now on."

Just as Li Zimin was thinking, Liu Rong poked him with a smile: "Mayor, you have voted." He just turned around, and cheerful music was already playing in the venue, and the people in the first row of the rostrum had already stood up. Gu Yishun, secretary of the municipal party committee, took the lead and walked towards the ballot box on the rostrum. He also stood up, took the four ballots on the table, and walked towards the ballot box with a smile.When he voted in the ballot box, the camera flashes kept flashing, and when he looked up, several cameras were also facing him.After voting, he smiled and walked back to his seat. The people behind him lined up to vote one by one, and the representatives under the rostrum also started to vote.

As soon as he sat down, Liu Rong, who was sitting next to him, stood up, bent down again, and put a smiling face in front of him, "Mayor Li, as soon as the National People's Congress is over, will you hold a meeting immediately?" The meeting of all members of the government should carry out the spirit of the National People's Congress. It is also necessary to immediately convene a working meeting on the proposals of the people's representatives, critics and suggestions, and proposals of the CPPCC members to show our new government's support for the work of the NPC and the CPPCC? If possible, I will Can you ask the comrades in the government office to prepare first?"

"Okay." Li Zimin nodded. "You are the executive deputy mayor, so you should hurry up and do these things."

"Well. Also, at this meeting, comrades from the National People's Congress pointed out that there are some difficulties in office funds and vehicles. Can we consider it in the future?"

"This..." Li Zimin glanced at Liu Rong carefully, and suddenly realized that he was so close to him, yet he was standing and bending over to talk, he didn't need to look like this at all, what was he doing?Whether he was making a gesture for others, or acting, he looked down the stage, and found that many people in the audience were looking at the two of them on the rostrum.There was some unhappiness in his heart again. "Well, let's talk about the financial situation later!"

"That's good, that's good." Liu Rong nodded repeatedly.

These brief conversations with Liu Rong reminded Li Zimin of what happened four days ago.On the opening day of the National People's Congress, he made a good work report on behalf of the government and won several applause from the representatives. evaluation of.He was very happy, and after having dinner at the hotel, he drove home.Hu Min, a newly married wife who has only been married for half a year, is watching the Xianghan news in front of the TV, and the scene of him giving a government work report is being played on the TV.Hu Min was younger than him, and when he saw her husband coming in, she rushed over. "My people, your report is excellent." After finishing speaking, the passionate tongue sealed his lips.The two were making out, when the phone on the table rang, Li Zimin let go of his wife to answer the phone, it was Gao Benzheng, secretary of the Liuhe County Party Committee.Gao Ben was on the phone asking him to come out immediately and tell him something important.He and Secretary Gao are old comrades, so calling him to go out at this time must be something serious.He asked if he was going to a hotel?He knew that Gao Ben was a representative of the National People's Congress and was staying in a hotel for the National People's Congress.Gao Ben was telling him, instead of going to a hotel, go to a small hotel called "Little Place" on Badao Street, where he will wait for him.

Putting down the phone, Li Zimin looked at his wife who was full of longing, "Xiao Min, I have to go out immediately."

"Is there something urgent?" Hu Min had a displeased look on his face.

"Secretary Gao of Liuhe County is looking for me. It may be a big deal. I have to leave immediately and wait for me to come back!" Li Zimin knew that the newlywed wife who is a gynecologist must be dissatisfied, but he put on his clothes and left the house.

He found this small hotel called "Little Place" by taxi alone.The tall and tall Gao Ben was waiting for him at the door, and the meeting could not be separated, so he pulled him to a private room in the backyard and closed the door, "Mayor Li, it is so late, there is really no way to invite you to this place. There are too many people in the hotel, too busy, I can’t tell you. I got very accurate information that someone will elect you as the mayor at this People’s Congress.”

"Who are they going to choose?"

"Liu Rong."

"Who are these people doing?"

"It seems that there are many people active, including Liu Yunna from Jianjian Company, and Feng Dachun, the director of the Municipal People's Congress. There may be Jiang Dashan and others behind him. The momentum is not small."

"If you want to vote me out, there must be some reason?"

"There are reasons. One is that you are too old, 55 years old, and they want to choose younger ones. The other is that you are domineering, criticizes people too harshly, and has a bad democratic style. The third is that you..."

"Tell me what?"

"Talking about you, saying that you have a problem with your life style. Before your wife died, you slept with a girl who was younger than you."

"Bastard, you're talking nonsense." Li Zimin was so angry that he put his teacup heavily on the table.

"Mayor, your situation is very critical now. You must be mentally prepared. If someone is asking for votes, you should also do it! Don't think that the mayor will definitely be your candidate if the provincial party committee decides you to be a candidate for mayor. If you don’t get half of the elections, you won’t be in.” Gao Benzheng warned him with a serious face.

"How can I pull it? I have never done such a thing!" Li Zimin shook his head again and again.

The next day, when we continued to discuss the government work report, Li Zimin visited the delegations one by one, but found problems. The representatives seemed to be very warm with him, but in fact they were far away from him, and some really didn’t take him seriously. .In the second discussion group of the Hedong District delegation, he went in. The representatives did not discuss his work report at all, but were playing poker. Someone introduced the mayor. Later, he found out that it was a self-employed person in the district who put his feet on the coffee table. When the mayor came, he didn't even move.It seems that someone is making a fuss.

Li Zimin reported what he knew to Gu Yishun, secretary of the municipal party committee.The 48-year-old secretary of the municipal party committee said to him: "Old Li, don't worry, nothing will happen. I had a conversation with Liu Rong the day before yesterday, and he promised to maintain a high degree of consistency with the provincial and municipal party committees, and would not engage in petty tricks." of."

The General Assembly elections were all over in just over half an hour.The scrutineers took all the ballot boxes, counted the votes, and the assembly rested, and people waited for the election results.

Cheerful music played in the venue.

2
The moment the ballot box was taken away, Liu Rong's heart was beating terribly.He told himself again and again: calm down, calm down, calm down again.Don't let others see the flaws.He knew that many people's eyes were now on the rostrum, in fact, on him.He didn't know how fate would arrange him, and he didn't know what kind of result he would get after taking such a big political risk.

He looked at Li Zimin who was sitting next to him. He couldn't see any special expression on his ordinary face. Could it be that this Shandong man with a big red face, thick eyebrows, and big eyes really didn't even know anything about him? ?He doesn't believe it.Such a big move has been in operation for more than three months. As the mayor, it is impossible for him not to be informed by someone, but he has not responded. If there is, he believes that people like Liu Yunna will know about it, and they will definitely be able to tell him.It was Liu Yunna who smiled at him when she took the ballot box away.However, he pretended not to see anything, without showing her any expression on his face.This woman really can't speak a word or two.It's like fate, like fate, they met ten years ago, and because they both had the surname Liu, they were called brother and sister at the wine table.At that time, Liu Yunna was just an ordinary budget clerk in Yijian Company. She was eloquent, smart, and beautiful, which attracted people's attention.And Liu Rong is just a section chief of the Finance Bureau.The two hit it off.Later, the relationship became closer and closer, and I can't remember the time when they got together after drinking, as if it was a matter of course, they got into the same bed naturally, and the cooperation on the bed was so harmonious.Since then, Liu Yunna has had a smooth journey from budgetary to section chief to deputy general manager and general manager.And Liu Rong, from section chief, deputy director, bureau chief, deputy mayor, executive deputy mayor, has been smooth sailing.I don't know who the two of them borrowed from whom.

But this time it was Liu Yunna who made Liu Rong so determined.It was just after the National Day last year, and the reelection assessment team sent by the provincial party committee entered Xianghan City.First, the city-level cadres talked individually, and the county-level cadres recommended it democratically. After more than half a month, there were two opinions. One opinion was that Li Zimin would withdraw to the National People's Congress or the CPPCC, and Liu Rong would be the mayor; the other opinion was that Li Zimin continued to be the mayor, Liu Rong continued to be the executive deputy mayor, and everything was temporarily suspended.Both opinions had their own reasons, and the assessment team couldn't make up their minds, so they had to take the two opinions back and ask the provincial party committee to make a decision.During those days of waiting for the news, he was indeed very excited and nervous, but the news that came back a few days later disappointed him greatly. The provincial party committee agreed to continue to let Li Zimin be the mayor.Maintain the stability of Xianghan City.He's gone.

That night, Liu Yunna heard the news and invited him to dinner alone, seeing his frowning expression, she said, "Liu Rong, don't be unhappy, do you think this opportunity is really that important to you? "

"It goes without saying that I am 43 years old this year, and I am considered young among deputy mayors. If Li Zimin works for another five years, I will be 48 years old. Who can say what will change in five years? By then And maybe who will be the mayor. If I come up this time, think about it, the 43-year-old mayor is 45 years old after working for two years. Secretary Gu is trained by the provincial party committee. He must go back. And it may still be promoted. Once he leaves, I may take over as the secretary of the municipal party committee. There is no municipal party secretary at the age of 45 in the whole province. , Going to the leadership position at the provincial level, think about it, this step will affect my life! Is it important!" When Liu Rong said this, there were tears of excitement on his face.

"Then can't we think of another way?"

"Is there any other way? The Provincial Party Committee has already finished its research. If you want to change, you can only go to the central government. I don't have such a big power." Liu Rong shook his head again and again.

"It doesn't work at the top, so let's do it at the bottom. Doesn't the mayor have to be elected?"

"There is an election. But the mayor is an equal election, not a gap. Representatives are not allowed to propose mayor candidates."

"Don't mention the candidates, we can vote directly! Isn't the ballot to be drawn by the representatives? Won't the circles be printed on the ballot?!"

"That won't happen." Liu Rong was amused by Liu Yunna's words.

"Since it won't, then there is a way. We are godchildren, and I am already yours. I will do my best for you."

"No. You can't mess around with this matter. Let me think about it and listen to other people's opinions."

Two days later, he went to the provincial capital to find Keyan, the provincial finance director, about this matter.This is his classmate at the Party School of the Provincial Party Committee. The two were born in the same year, the same month and the same day, and they have always gotten along well. He told Director Guan about this idea. It took a long time before I told him that you must be careful about this matter. Generally speaking, it is completely impossible. If you don't do it well, it will affect your future.However, he also told him that this is indeed an opportunity. The people's representative really chose you, and no one can take you down.It depends on how it works.Liu Rong told Director Guan that Liu Yunna wanted to help.Director Guan told him that only a few people like Liu Yunna would not do.To find someone with political influence in Xianghan City to support you, and this person must firmly oppose Li Zimin, in this case, you have hope.Is there such a person?
(End of this chapter)