213: Epilogue of Chapter 213

Secretary Lu Guoliang pressed his palm down on the file Director Li Qiang had handed him.

The top leader of Qingjiang County fell silent for a moment.

"Since the facts are clear," Secretary Lu Guoliang looked at Director Li Qiang, "have your First Division of the County Commission for Discipline Inspection promptly draft a detailed written report and submit it to Secretary Pang."

He paused slightly and instructed the liaison officer behind him: "Write this down. Once the Standing Committee of the County Commission for Discipline Inspection reaches a final conclusion, send a copy to me. I want to review it personally."

The liaison officer bowed and acknowledged the order.

Secretary Lu Guoliang's gaze swept across the cameras and microphones surrounding the venue, finally landing on the accompanying Deputy Minister Yang of the County Party Committee Publicity Department.

"Minister Yang." Secretary Lu Guoliang raised his voice.

"Yes, Secretary Lu." Deputy Minister Yang stepped forward quickly.

"You must vet the materials from the publicity sector. Make them solid, and more importantly, make them good." Secretary Lu Guoliang spoke very slowly. "Regarding today's recorded content, go find Minister Chen of the County Party Committee Publicity Department later and coordinate with him. All video footage intended for submission to the Linjiang City Publicity Department must be submitted to Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan for review before being sent."

He emphasized his tone.

"You must gauge the boundaries accurately."

Deputy Minister Yang's heart skipped a beat.

The original intention of today's restitution meeting was to showcase the County Party Committee's compassion for the people and its tough stance on anti-corruption, but it had been turned into a chaotic farce by this gang of thugs.

The dignified Secretary of the Qingjiang County Party Committee had been forced to retreat to the background to avoid the brunt of the situation. If the unedited footage were sent to the city, what face would the County Party Committee have left?

Secretary Lu Guoliang's arrangements not only preserved his own dignity by appearing calm in the face of danger but also conveniently dumped the burden of responsibility for reviewing the final draft onto Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan, who was in charge of Party affairs and political and legal work.

If something went wrong with the recording, it would be because Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan had failed to vet it strictly. In his maneuvers, his art of checks and balances was fully revealed.

Having arranged the cleanup of the publicity sector, Secretary Lu Guoliang's gaze shifted to Zhu Wenhao.

"Zhu Wenhao."

Secretary Lu Guoliang called out, his tone carrying a hint of admonishment.

"Our Qingjiang County has its own public security forces. Whenever we encounter an emergency, constantly bypassing the hierarchy to trouble the comrades at the Linjiang Municipal Public Security Bureau is neither proper nor justified; it is ultimately inappropriate."

Without waiting for Zhu Wenhao to reply, Secretary Lu Guoliang turned his head and threw an instruction to the Director of the Party and Government Office: "Notify Zheng Dachuan of the County Public Security Bureau when you get back, and have him come to my office this afternoon. The red-headed documents from the province and city regarding the crackdown on organized crime have been issued for quite some time, yet the County Public Security Bureau hasn't even made a ripple. It is simply absurd!"

These words, firstly, set the tone of "involvement in organized crime" for the Zhang Clan's violent acts here on the spot, blocking any retreat for subordinates who might try to gloss over the issue.

Secondly, it directly pointed out that the security at today's venue was a failure, as the County Public Security Bureau had been slow to provide reinforcements.

Zheng Dachuan was one of Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan's men; by reprimanding Zheng Dachuan, Secretary Lu Guoliang was effectively slapping Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan in the face.

After reprimanding the County Public Security Bureau, Secretary Lu Guoliang turned his attention back to Zhu Wenhao.

"Zhu Wenhao, you are in charge of political and legal affairs and petitioning. For some work, you still need to communicate and consult more with Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan. Local political and legal work ultimately has its rules. Don't you agree that this is the logic?"

This was the red line drawn by the County Party Committee Secretary.

Although Zhu Wenhao had borrowed SWAT officers from the Municipal Public Security Bureau and resolved the siege at the venue, this practice of directly ignoring the county hierarchy and overstepping his authority to mobilize troops had crossed Secretary Lu Guoliang's bottom line for controlling the overall situation.

A top leader could tolerate subordinates getting things done, but would never allow them to rely on connections in the city to treat Qingjiang County as their own private backyard.

Zhu Wenhao knew this perfectly well.

Everything has its limits.

"Secretary Lu, your instruction is correct." Zhu Wenhao stood straight, adjusting his clothes. "The comrades from the Municipal Public Security Bureau only came here today under orders. Once they finish the cleanup work at hand, they will naturally return to Linjiang."

"They came this time mainly because the case in Heishui Village is deeply intertwined with the major organized crime case involving the Taiyao Gang that the Municipal Public Security Bureau is supervising. Once this lead is verified, the comrades from the Municipal Public Security Bureau will certainly have to go back to attend to their own special case."

Zhu Wenhao not only gave Secretary Lu Guoliang plenty of face but also drew a clear line.

His use of the Municipal Public Security Bureau SWAT team was limited to pursuing the Zhang Clan, which was linked to the Taiyao Gang. Once the Heishui Village case was concluded, the people from the Municipal Public Security Bureau would all withdraw, and the overall public security of Qingjiang County would remain under the jurisdiction of the County Party Committee and the County Public Security Bureau.

Secretary Lu Guoliang's expression softened considerably as he listened to the reply.

It neither damaged his authority nor compromised the achievements of the anti-corruption and anti-organized crime campaign.

"That is for the best."

After tossing out these four words, Secretary Lu Guoliang said nothing more, not even sparing a glance for Secretary Qiu Dehai of the Town Party Committee.

He flicked the hem of his windbreaker, turned directly, and strode toward the Town Government compound.

The accompanying personnel followed in a grand procession.

Secretary Qiu Dehai's forehead was covered in cold sweat. Seeing that Secretary Lu Guoliang had completely ignored him, he felt a chill down his spine. He hurried after him, trying to regain some presence in front of the County Party Committee Secretary.

In front of the podium, only the mess and the dozens of Zhang Clan thugs restrained by the SWAT team remained.

Zhu Wenhao stood where he was, watching the direction of the County Party Committee's motorcade.

Police Chief Zhao Gang and Director Xu Jie approached.

Police Chief Zhao Gang lowered his voice to ask: "Secretary Zhu, how should we proceed next?"

"The momentum of thunder has already been established; how could we give up halfway?" Zhu Wenhao brushed a speck of dust from the cuff of his coat. "Didn't you hear the tone Secretary Lu just set? Qingjiang County's own crackdown on organized crime will soon be on the agenda."

He stared at the thugs whose hands were cuffed, his tone low.

"Take all these organized crime personnel who disrupted the venue and violently resisted law enforcement into custody. While the SWAT brothers from the Municipal Public Security Bureau are still here in Heishi Town to hold the line, turn their testimonies and crimes into ironclad cases, one by one."

Zhu Wenhao turned to face Police Chief Zhao Gang.

"With Secretary Lu's statement today, the attitude of the county's political and legal sector will surely change drastically. Taking advantage of this strong wind sweeping through Qingjiang County, pull up the remaining mess left by the Zhang Clan by the roots."

Police Chief Zhao Gang felt his blood boil with excitement: "Understood! I will arrange for the interrogation personnel immediately and peel this layer of skin off them."

"Do not be greedy for merit or advance rashly; the focus is on the account book." Zhu Wenhao instructed. "Previously, Village Secretary Zhang Dahai's wife, Liu Meijiao, let it slip that Clan Elder Zhang Laoqi holds a black account book recording the social interactions and favors in Heishi Town. This account book is the executioner's blade hanging over the heads of those vermin. This time, under the guise of seizing organized crime assets, you must dig that thing out for me. Bring it back secretly; do not let a single whisper of it leak out."

"Understood." Police Chief Zhao Gang accepted the order, turned around, and strode toward the escort team to coordinate the police force.

After Police Chief Zhao Gang walked away, Zhu Wenhao's gaze turned to Director Xu Jie at his side.

"The weeds in the Party and Government Office who are drawing salaries for no work or acting as moles—they should be mostly cleared out by now, right?" Zhu Wenhao asked.

"According to your instructions, under the name of the Town Commission for Discipline Inspection, we have conducted the necessary interviews and advised those who needed to resign to do so. Currently, the operation of the administrative hub has returned to normal order." Director Xu Jie answered crisply, without any hesitation.

"After destroying the old, the priority is to establish the new." Zhu Wenhao took a step and walked slowly toward the Town Government building, with Director Xu Jie following half a step behind.

"The vacated positions cannot remain idle. Hurry to scout for personnel from among the grassroots staff; I want those who are clean, capable of getting things done, and dare to take responsibility to step up." Zhu Wenhao deployed the administrative arrangements. "The Party and Government Office is the throat; the throat must be held in our own hands. Whoever dares to tamper with the circulation and approval of documents again, dismiss them directly. Do you understand?"

"Understood." Director Xu Jie replied.

The two walked to the steps of the office building.

Under the shadow of a pillar at the podium, Town Mayor Luo Xingbang stood with his hands behind his back.

Since the riot began, he had taken the opportunity to retreat to a safe area, but he had not followed Secretary Qiu Dehai to curry favor with the County Party Committee Secretary; instead, he had been in the shadows all along, watching the reversal of the situation with cold eyes.

Town Mayor Luo Xingbang saw how Zhu Wenhao had soothed the top leader of the County Party Committee with just a few words; he also saw him directing the situation, deploying the SWAT team and the Town Police Station as easily as moving his own arm.

Such composure in strategizing was far beyond what an ordinary township-level deputy section-chief cadre could possess.

Recalling how Secretary Qiu Dehai had been panicked and at a loss under the heavy pressure from the County Commission for Discipline Inspection and the Municipal Public Security Bureau these past few days, the difference between the two was immediately clear.

Town Mayor Luo Xingbang had been struggling at the grassroots level for over a decade and had always believed in the survival principles of self-preservation and not making a move until the target is in sight.

But today, the small pond of Heishi Town could no longer trap this dragon that had crossed the river.

The Zhang Clan was on the verge of collapse, he already had Executive Vice Mayor Qian Dayong's tail in his grasp, and Secretary Qiu Dehai had also lost the trust of the County Party Committee.