Chapter 1202 - 1202:

This time, Dirk Carter's return to Ronan City was unlike any of his previous trips.

He came with a mission.

And this mission was completely different from the one in Silverwood City.

After the Houseman Family collapsed.

As the Houseman Family's power base, the Novaria State Committee was the first to issue a statement supporting the top leadership's decision.

Many people also rushed to draw a clear line between themselves and the Houseman Family.

But the original foundation was still there.

Dirk Carter's mission was to dismantle that foundation.

Yet his authority was far too limited; for him to shake that foundation would take a very long time.

So Bohdan Sherwood's expectation of him was to first get a full grasp of the situation, and in the process create some trouble, to force Silverwood City's problems to surface, and then use a single point to pierce the whole structure.

Originally this could have been done slowly.

But the emergence of The Astral Sect shattered that plan.

Even worse, Dirk Carter had personally seen a member of the Houseman Family, already locked up in the detention center, actually having a connection with The Astral Sect. Whether there was some conspiracy hidden in this, had to be clarified immediately.

So, over this recent period.

Apart from being busy with Seth Dixon's affairs.

He was also quietly inquiring about The Astral Sect on all fronts.

He had no idea until he started asking around; once he did, the result was quite frightening.

Across Serenity State, The Astral Sect was already almost operating openly.

Just last month, there had even been an incident in Ardmore City where followers of The Astral Sect stormed a township government.

Only this news was pressed down.

Which was understandable.

As a local ruler, he obviously didn't want unrest in his jurisdiction; after all, under the current system, stability maintenance work is also a concrete metric for judging an official's governing capacity.

Most people in power are afraid of trouble.

They fear that once things blow up, their official caps will no longer be secure.

It's precisely under this mentality.

That The Astral Sect found the conditions for its barbaric growth.

Another issue was something Dirk Carter only discovered after arriving in Ronan City.

And that was Rasco Shaw.

At the critical juncture of the Houseman Family's rebellion, Dirk Carter had handed over the notebook Dylan Tate left behind to him, in exchange for Rasco Shaw's support.

From that point on.

Rasco Shaw returned to Serenity State as State Committee Secretary.

After he took office.

State Commission for Discipline Inspection Secretary Thatcher Wright had once raised the issue of The Astral Sect at a standing committee meeting.

The result was that less than a month later.

Thatcher Wright was transferred out.

Perhaps it was just a coincidence.

But another change was also something that made Dirk Carter wary.

After Rasco Shaw returned, he carried out sweeping reforms of the state's organs of violence.

The top posts of the Rhovan Provincial Police Department, the provincial procuratorate, the provincial high court, and even the justice department were all replaced.

Most of them were his old subordinates from his previous tenure in Serenity State.

Including several key counties and cities such as Ronan City.

Although Dirk Carter had no way to directly untangle the tricks behind this.

His instincts told him that between Rasco Shaw and The Astral Sect there should be a relationship too entangled to cut clean.

Bohdan Sherwood's reason for sending him to Ronan City as mayor.

Was also to enable him to have a more direct grip on the overall situation.

After all, as the capital of Serenity State.

This was where one could see clearly the political trend of the entire state.

That night.

Dirk Carter opened his computer in the study.

He logged onto the Ronan Municipal Party Committee and Ronan City Government website.

And carefully studied the current leadership team.

Keaton Ross, female, now 54 years old, member and standing committee member of the Serenity State Committee; member and standing committee member of the Ronan Municipal Party Committee, Party Secretary of the Ronan Municipal Party Committee, and concurrently First Secretary of the Ronan Garrison District Party Committee.

Before Rasco Shaw's return.

The Ronan Municipal Party Secretary was not on the State Committee standing committee list.

After all, Ronan is not a sub-provincial city.

Once Rasco Shaw arrived, he proposed to expand the State Committee standing committee, and got approval from above.

So Keaton Ross entered the State Committee standing committee ranks.

And with that.

The Ronan Municipal Party Secretary and the mayor were no longer on the same level.

Party Secretary Keaton Ross held vice-ministerial rank, a solid provincial leader.

While Dirk Carter, as mayor, held only full-departmental rank.

This arrangement's effect was that the Party Secretary's power was strengthened.

The constraint the entire municipal standing committee team could exert on her was greatly weakened.

Back when Rasco Shaw was deputy secretary of the State Committee.

Keaton Ross had worked in the State Committee's General Office for quite a long time.

She was one of Rasco Shaw's core protégés from back then.

Deputy Party Secretary Tauber Grant, now 55, was someone Dirk Carter had never dealt with; the two were unfamiliar.

Next came Executive Vice Mayor Brennan Ford.

This man, Dirk Carter was very familiar with.

Back when he clashed with Callum Hamilton.

As his patron, Brennan Ford—then a Ronan City Government Party Leadership Group member and City Government Secretary—had been summoned by him to back him up.

Because of abuse of power, he had been personally punished by Elder Qin.

Later Brennan Ford received a major demerit in his administrative record and was removed from the position of City Government Secretary.

It was after Rasco Shaw's return.

That Brennan Ford, who had been sidelined for years, was brought back and directly promoted to vice mayor.

About three months ago.

He was promoted again.

This time he took the seat of Executive Vice Mayor.

This man was a considerable problem for Dirk Carter.

First, the two already had a grudge between them; add to that his newfound backing as protégé of the State Committee Secretary, and friction with Dirk Carter was practically nailed down.

Second, the Executive Vice Mayor has significant power to counterbalance the mayor.

If Brennan Ford was dead set on sidelining Dirk Carter, he would meet heavy resistance the moment he took office.

Number five in the ranking was the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection Secretary.

By coincidence.

Dirk Carter knew this person too.

It was former Executive Vice Principal of the State Political School, Larry Lewis.

Back when Dirk Carter was studying at the State Political School, he had had a major conflict with his classmate Kim Churchill; in order to shield Kim Churchill, Larry Lewis had turned the pressure on Dirk Carter up to the maximum.

It wasn't until later, when Dirk Carter forced Rasco Shaw out and Charleston Thorne took over as principal, that he managed to turn the tide.

However.

Their feud had been forged right then and there.

No need to say it aloud.

Putting Larry Lewis in this post was also Rasco Shaw's decision.

Of the five-person core group, two were already at odds with Dirk Carter.

He really had no idea whether this was coincidence, or whether Rasco Shaw had long foreseen that Dirk Carter would be transferred to Ronan City.

If it really was the latter.

Then Rasco Shaw truly was adept at calculation.

He kept scrolling down.

Most were unfamiliar names.

All the way at the bottom.

A familiar name appeared.

Ronan Municipal Party Committee member, City Government Party Leadership Group member, Vice Mayor Daisy Young.

He remembered the last time he saw her was over the handling of Benson Caldwell's case.

Thinking back now, it seemed he hadn't heard anything about Daisy Young for a long time.

Looking through her recent résumé, Dirk Carter realized she had already been transferred to Ronan City as vice mayor three years ago; this seemed purely like providence at work.

He had been thinking this time was a catastrophic opening.

With Daisy Young's help.

Perhaps the situation would be very different.

This was basically the only thing that gave Dirk Carter any joy after he finished studying the leadership team.