115: Chapter 115 Linjiang City Guesthouse

Linjiang Municipal Party Committee Guest House, 5th Floor.

Team Leader Qiu Rui of the Provincial Inspection Team sat behind a large mahogany desk, reaching out to press down on that thick stack of files.

The wall clock pointed to late at night, but he felt no fatigue.

Scattered on the desktop were photocopies regarding the debt of Linjiang City urban investment and the project approvals of the Development and Reform Commission over the years.

The Inspection Team had been stationed in Linjiang City for some time and had already entered the final phase of the inspection.

Routine interviews and clue collection were basically complete, and according to the plan, they would break camp and return to the provincial capital to close the project in half a month.

But the situation completely turned around this afternoon.

A red-headed document from the Provincial Party Committee was delivered directly to his desk, appointing him as the leader of the second supervision group for the provincial special struggle against organized crime.

The deputy leader was Deputy Captain Zhang Lin of the Provincial Public Security Department's Criminal Investigation Corps.

Team Leader Qiu Rui picked up his cold, strong tea and took a big gulp.

In the evening, the call from his old leader, Secretary Guo of the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection, was still echoing in his ears.

"Qiu Rui," Secretary Guo's tone on the other end of the phone was extremely serious. "The Provincial Party Committee is letting you take on the burden of this supervision team leader, and it is absolutely not just for show. The murky water in Linjiang City is deeper than expected. The fall of Zheng Jianguo is just a thread; the Provincial Party Committee highly suspects that behind this organized crime case, high-level officials from the Linjiang Municipal Party Committee and the Municipal Government are deeply involved, acting as umbrellas."

"You must take advantage of this anti-organized crime campaign to make this case an ironclad one. Do not let down the trust of the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Government, and create new achievements in Linjiang City."

He closed the files and leaned back in his chair, sorting through the fragmented information he currently possessed.

Returning to the formal deduction of the case, the situation was indeed tricky.

The timing of Zheng Jianguo's fall was too precise.

Just as the Inspection Team set their sights on the project funding for the new urban district in the south, the key person involved jumped to his death, leaving no evidence.

Immediately after, they followed the clues and finally locked onto Zheng Jianguo's lover, Li Qian. As a result, the place was empty, and a few days later, a female corpse was salvaged from the lower reaches of the Qing River. The Municipal Public Security Bureau's Criminal Police Brigade didn't even finish the autopsy report before hastily classifying it as a suicide by drowning due to depression.

Then, in the last two days, Secretary Li Li of the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection accidentally saved Li Qian's son, only to be intercepted by a joint attack of dump trucks and off-road vehicles on the provincial highway.

Various signs indicated that this criminal force entrenched in Linjiang City not only had eyes and ears everywhere but also knew the movements of the special investigation team like the back of their hand.

The other side must have planted high-level moles within the Municipal Public Security Bureau and even the Municipal Committee.

The enemy is in the dark, and we are in the light; this case is difficult to move forward.

In the small conference room on the third floor of the Guest House, smoke swirled.

Team Leader Qiu Rui summoned Secretary Li Li of the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection, along with Deputy Captain Zhang Lin and several core members of the special investigation team, for a meeting.

Halfway through the meeting, a short, sharp vibration of a mobile phone sounded.

Secretary Li Li glanced at the caller ID on the screen, her expression shifting slightly.

She gestured to Team Leader Qiu Rui, pushed back her chair, and walked out of the conference room to answer the phone.

In less than two minutes, the thick wooden door of the conference room was pushed open again.

Secretary Li Li looked at Team Leader Qiu Rui in the main seat: "Team Leader Qiu, Deputy Secretary Zhu Tianhe of the Linjiang Municipal Party Committee just called me."

She lowered her voice: "He is downstairs at the Guest House. He said he has important matters and wants to report to our special investigation team in person."

As soon as these words were spoken, several core members in the conference room looked at each other.

Team Leader Qiu Rui immediately decided: "Invite him up quickly."

He turned his head to look at a young staff member sitting on the side: "Xiao Wang, go down and welcome him immediately. Be careful not to disturb the idle personnel at the Guest House."

"Xiao Cui," Team Leader Qiu Rui pointed to the girl responsible for the meeting minutes, "You stay behind and take the meeting notes."

Subsequently, he waved his hand at Deputy Captain Zhang Lin and other team members: "The remaining comrades, let's disperse for now."

The personnel evacuated quickly.

In the large conference room, only Team Leader Qiu Rui, Secretary Li Li, and Xiao Cui sitting in front of the computer remained.

A few minutes later, steady footsteps came from the corridor.

Xiao Wang pushed open the door and stepped aside to clear the path.

Secretary Zhu Tianhe was wearing a dark gray jacket and walked in with big strides.

"Secretary Zhu Tianhe," Secretary Li Li was the first to greet him, "It's so late, I don't know what important matter you have coming to the special investigation team?"

Secretary Zhu Tianhe nodded: "Secretary Li Li, Team Leader Qiu. I came over tonight to bring clues for solving the case to your special investigation team."

Hearing this, Team Leader Qiu Rui's steps around the conference table quickened a bit.

The two men shook hands, with a grip that was neither too heavy nor too light.

"Secretary Zhu Tianhe, please sit." Team Leader Qiu Rui made a gesture.

Secretary Zhu Tianhe did not rush to sit down.

He placed his briefcase on the desktop, reached into his inner pocket, and took out a brand new Huahua brand smartphone.

"Team Leader Qiu, time is pressing, so I won't beat around the bush." Secretary Zhu Tianhe pushed the phone across the table, "I have photos of the ledger that Comrade Su Qinghan risked her life to take. I hope it can help your special investigation team find clues in the case."

Team Leader Qiu Rui grabbed the phone and clicked on the photo album.

On the screen, a dozen photos with dim lighting and slightly tilted compositions slid by one after another.

Although they were only partial remaining pages of the ledger, and the destination of the funds recorded inside used a large number of code names.

But for a veteran of discipline inspection who had investigated economic cases for years, these messy numbers were sharp blades to tear through the black curtain.

Team Leader Qiu Rui immediately handed the phone to Xiao Cui next to him: "Connect it to the computer immediately and export all the pictures. Get a color printer, print them immediately, in triplicate, and encrypt them for archiving."

Xiao Cui took the phone, connected the data cable with agile hands, and tapped the keyboard.

Before long, the printer began to spit out pages.

High-definition photocopies were neatly stacked on the conference table.

Team Leader Qiu Rui and Secretary Li Li leaned forward and picked up the photos to examine them carefully.

Even as remaining pages, the huge amount of money involved and the large number of circulating accounts were enough to make one shudder.

After watching for a while, Team Leader Qiu Rui raised his head.

He noticed that Secretary Zhu Tianhe was still standing in front of the conference table, his hands pressed on the buckle of his briefcase, with no intention of leaving.

"Secretary Zhu Tianhe, thank you for providing the key clues." Team Leader Qiu Rui put down the photos, "Also, thank you to Comrade Su Qinghan for her wit and bravery; she has cleared a great obstacle for the special investigation team."

He looked at Secretary Zhu Tianhe: "We have accepted the clues. I don't know if Secretary Zhu Tianhe has anything else to explain by coming here tonight?"

Secretary Zhu Tianhe fiddled with the metal buckle of his briefcase, making a light "click" sound.

"Team Leader Qiu." Secretary Zhu Tianhe raised his head, "I also have some personal circumstances that I want to reflect to the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection."

Secretary Li Li realized immediately that it would be inappropriate for her to stay here.

"Team Leader Qiu, Secretary Zhu Tianhe." Secretary Li Li picked up the notebook on the table, "There are still several documents at the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection that I need to handle, so I will go and get busy first."

After saying this, she turned around and walked out of the conference room cleanly, closing the door behind her.

In the large conference room, only Secretary Zhu Tianhe, Team Leader Qiu Rui, and Xiao Cui, who was in charge of recording in the corner, remained.

"Secretary Zhu Tianhe." Team Leader Qiu Rui pointed to the chair opposite, "Sit down and talk. If there is any situation, reflect it truthfully."

Secretary Zhu Tianhe pulled out the chair and sat down.

He unzipped his briefcase and pulled out a "Situation Explanation."

He held the edges of the paper with both hands and handed it to Team Leader Qiu Rui.

"At that time, I was serving as the Executive Vice Mayor of Linjiang City." Secretary Zhu Tianhe did not look at the draft, "The project for the new urban district in the south was launched with a huge volume. On the project approval and large-scale fund disbursement approval forms submitted by the Development and Reform Commission, I saw the signature of Former Mayor Xiao Tianyou."

Secretary Zhu Tianhe's tone was steady: "Because my ideological awareness was not vigilant enough at the time, and I was too concerned about the unity within the leadership team, I did not conduct a detailed investigation into the penetration of the underlying funds and just signed it off."

"As the Executive Vice Mayor in charge of the Development and Reform Commission and finance, I did not play the necessary monitoring and supervision role in this project."

He paused, meeting Team Leader Qiu Rui's scrutinizing gaze.

"Now that the Director of the Development and Reform Commission, Zheng Jianguo, has fallen to his death, I believe this is inseparable from my lack of strict approval and gatekeeping back then. Today, I am voluntarily submitting this situation explanation to the Inspection Team and accepting all review and accountability from the organization."

Team Leader Qiu Rui did not interrupt him.

He picked up the "Situation Explanation" on the table and read it word by word.

The text was concise, without shirking responsibility, and clearly stated the background of the signature, the pressure from Former Mayor Xiao Tianyou, and his own negligence.

At the signature line, Secretary Zhu Tianhe's signature was forceful.

"The situation reflected by Secretary Zhu Tianhe is very valuable."

Team Leader Qiu Rui organized the materials and placed them flat on the table.

"Your explanation will be recorded truthfully by our special investigation team and reported to the higher-level Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection according to the procedure."

He turned to look at the corner: "Xiao Cui, the conversation with Secretary Zhu Tianhe just now, is the record ready?"

"Team Leader Qiu, it has been fully entered and printed." Xiao Cui handed over two bound transcripts of the conversation.

Team Leader Qiu Rui pushed the transcripts to Secretary Zhu Tianhe. "Secretary Zhu Tianhe, take a look at the record. If there is no discrepancy in the expression of meaning, sign it."

Secretary Zhu Tianhe checked line by line.

After confirming there were no problems, he pulled out his fountain pen, signed his name on the last page, and pressed his fingerprint.

After finishing all this, Secretary Zhu Tianhe stood up, "Team Leader Qiu, then I will not disturb the special investigation team's handling of the case. If there is any need for cooperation in the investigation later, I will be on call."

"Take care, Secretary Zhu Tianhe." Team Leader Qiu Rui stood up to see him off.

Watching the back of Secretary Zhu Tianhe carrying his briefcase out of the conference room, Team Leader Qiu Rui returned to the table and reached out to look through the photos of the ledger.

Secretary Zhu Tianhe's proactive attack today was smooth and flowing, with an extremely seasoned calculation behind it.

Throwing out the most lethal physical evidence and the most passive weakness at the same time, turning passivity into initiative.

Downstairs at the Municipal Party Committee Guest House, the night was deep.

Secretary Zhu Tianhe opened the passenger door and sat in.

He threw his briefcase into the back seat, reached out and loosened the tie around his neck, and exhaled a long breath of turbid air.

"Zhu Wenhao, this pass has been crossed."

Secretary Zhu Tianhe turned his head to look at Zhu Wenhao in the driver's seat and recounted the details of the confrontation in the conference room in great detail.

"I handed in the situation explanation. But Team Leader Qiu Rui only accepted the materials. Apart from official polite words, he did not make any substantive stance."

Zhu Wenhao rested one hand on the steering wheel, his eyes looking at the windshield in front.

"No stance is the most correct stance."

"He is an old discipline inspector. Before figuring out this material, he will never easily draw a conclusion."

Zhu Wenhao's fingers tapped lightly on the leather cover of the steering wheel.

"Han Feizi said: 'Affairs are in the four directions, the essentials are in the center. The sage holds the essentials, and the four directions follow.' We handed this situation explanation to Team Leader Qiu Rui, which is handing the 'essential' of handling the event to the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection."

"This move of 'stripping to the waist and leading a sheep' in the art of war is used at just the right time."

"This is called advancing by retreating, turning passive defense into active momentum."

"We have already shown our trump card, and the tone of unclear management responsibility has thus been set."

Zhu Wenhao turned his head and looked at Secretary Zhu Tianhe.

"Father, there is no time to lose." Zhu Wenhao set the action strategy for the next step, "Tomorrow morning, you go to the Municipal Committee compound and arrange the work at hand."

"Find a justifiable reason, and we will go to the provincial capital tomorrow afternoon."

Secretary Zhu Tianhe was a little hesitant: "Go to the provincial capital? The case here in Linjiang is at a critical juncture. If I, the Deputy Secretary, leave at this time, will it arouse suspicion?"

"It is precisely because the investigation is at a critical juncture that you should pull yourself out of it."

Zhu Wenhao started the vehicle, and the engine made a low roar.

"The chessboard of Linjiang has been set, and the rest is for the special investigation team to close the net. If you stay here, you will only become a target for all parties to test."

"Go to the provincial capital and meet your grandfather." Zhu Wenhao stepped on the accelerator, "We need to use the influence of the old gentleman to completely seal this firewall at the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection."