237: Chapter 237 The Adjective: You're Right

"Dingyu, this is your idea."

Minister Xiao Dingyu stood up straight, met his old leader's gaze, and nodded in response.

"If Comrade Li Zhengxing is to join the Jiangnan Province Provincial Organization Department, his primary task should be to travel more and observe more," Minister Xiao Dingyu said in a calm tone.

"Jiangnan Province is vast, and the economic structure, cultural landscape, and even the cadre ecology of the cities in the north and south are vastly different."

"This differs from the way things are done in The Capital. The initial work should focus on familiarizing oneself with the provincial situation and understanding the overall landscape, so that one can act with a clear objective."

These words were high-sounding and impeccable, leaving no room for criticism regarding protocol.

Minister Xiao Dingyu did not pause.

"Furthermore, the daily work of the Organization Department is currently being managed by Comrade Qi Tian. The various divisions are operating smoothly, and there hasn't been a single error in the assessment and selection of cadres. Two days ago, I spoke with Secretary Lao in person and recommended that Comrade Qi Tian be formally appointed as the Executive Deputy Minister of the Provincial Organization Department."

The mask of composure on Li Zhengxing's face nearly shattered.

An Executive Deputy Minister, a position of real power at the department level, holds the reins to the specific allocation of cadres across all cities and counties in the province.

This was the most critical link in his plan for his new post after heading south.

His original calculation was that once he arrived in Jiangnan Province and established a firm footing, he would use the remaining prestige of Elder Li and the hands of Minister Xiao Dingyu to smoothly secure this executive position, thereby establishing his authority, seizing power, and completing the substantive takeover of the personnel landscape in Jiangnan Province.

Now, Minister Xiao Dingyu had acted first and reported later.

With a single open move of recommending Qi Tian for the promotion, he had completely severed his entire scheme.

Without the real power of the Executive Deputy Minister, no one would pay any attention to him, an air-dropped Deputy Minister.

This was a blatant sidelining.

Li Zhengxing had no way to vent his frustration.

The power of personnel recommendation lay in the hands of the Provincial Organization Department Minister; the matter was settled, and he didn't even have room to object.

The room was silent, save for the monotonous ringing of a mobile phone.

Zhu Wenhao picked up the phone, saw the caller on the screen, and pressed the answer button.

"Uncle Qi."

From the other end of the line, the voice of Director Qi Shan, head of the Provincial Public Security Department, came through.

"Zhu Wenhao, it's done."

"The Jingjiang City Procuratorate has issued the document, and Lei Zhenzi has been officially arrested."

Director Qi Shan reported the progress of the battle concisely.

Under the heavy pressure of the Provincial Public Security Department's Special Investigation Team, the defensive line of the Jingjiang Municipal Public Security Bureau began to collapse.

Among the grassroots officers who handled the Lin Wan case back then, some could not withstand the pressure of accountability after the incident broke, and they voluntarily surrendered to the Special Investigation Team, revealing everything—how Lei Zhenzi committed violence, how the branch leaders accepted bribes and covered it up, and even the inside story of how they tampered with the police call records.

"A few days ago, following your plan, I went to give a special report to Secretary Lao," Director Qi Shan recounted the coordination among the high-level officials of the Provincial Party Committee.

"Secretary Lao personally gave instructions, ordering Secretary Chen of the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection to step in. It was a strategy of making a feint to the east while attacking in the west."

"The Provincial Public Security Department applied extreme pressure on the Jingjiang Municipal Public Security Bureau openly, while the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection closed the net in secret."

"Secretary Guo, the Executive Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection, personally took command and secretly transferred Team Leader Qiu Rui, who was handling the crackdown on organized crime in Linjiang, back to the provincial capital."

"Team Leader Qiu Rui's investigative skills are truly seasoned," Director Qi Shan's tone revealed a hint of admiration.

"He didn't make a big scene by arresting people; he just picked a few suspects on the periphery of the Jingjiang Municipal Public Security Bureau and invited them to the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection for tea."

"On the way, Team Leader Qiu Rui set up a psychological game based on the prisoner's dilemma."

"He had them transported in separate cars and let it be known that whoever spoke first would be considered to have surrendered and performed a meritorious service, while those who spoke later would be dealt with severely for collusion and resistance."

The human weakness of seeking advantages and avoiding harm was magnified infinitely.

Halfway to the Discipline Inspection Commission's investigation site, someone's mental defenses crumbled, and they voluntarily laid out the entire chain of interest transfers used to suppress the case for Lei Zhenzi back then.

"Team Leader Qiu Rui went with the flow and immediately recognized it as a surrender," Director Qi Shan summarized the results.

"Now the breach has been completely torn open. With this first opening, the subsequent related personnel involved, along with the high-level officials of the Jingjiang Municipal Public Security Bureau and even the corrupt officials within the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, will be dug out one after another."

For a rotting building, once a single load-bearing brick is removed, the collapse becomes irreversible.

Zhu Wenhao sat upright in his chair, finished listening, and re-simulated the landscape of Jingjiang City in his mind.

"I understand, Uncle Qi," Zhu Wenhao said clearly.

"Continue to push the investigation into Lei Zhenzi's organized crime case deeper according to the established plan."

"Lin Wan's best friend is an excellent breakthrough point, especially regarding the source of the contraband; this concerns the final characterization of the case."

"For this line, the evidence must be rock-solid; we cannot leave any excuse for a retrial."

To punish the wicked and eliminate evil, one must use thunderous means.

If we cannot nail such evil young men who treat human lives like grass and exploit the common people to ironclad evidence, where is the dignity of the law, and what can we use to comfort those innocent people who have suffered so much injustice?

Ending the communication, Zhu Wenhao placed his phone face down on the table.

He ignored the Li family father and son, whose expressions were changing, and tilted his head slightly to look at Study Committee Member Cao Rui.

"Contact Deputy Secretary Cao Hang now," Zhu Wenhao issued the dispatch order.

"Tell him the east wind has arrived. Tell him and Secretary Feng to continue their fierce attack on the Municipal Public Security Bureau from the side of the Jingjiang Municipal Committee."

"The heat is not enough; let this fire burn even more fiercely."

Study Committee Member Cao Rui stood straight, took his phone out of his pocket, and turned to walk out into the corridor to call his uncle, Deputy Secretary Cao Hang.

His display of commanding the situation, with the spearhead aimed directly at the deepest part of the Jingjiang City political and legal system, fully displayed the demeanor of a commander.

After doing all this, Zhu Wenhao turned back.

He gave a look to Su Qinghan, who was by his side.

Su Qinghan understood and opened the bag she was carrying, taking out two cylindrical iron canisters.

The outer layer of the tea canisters was wrapped only in a rough, pure white paper, with no words or labels, so plain that it was almost crude.

Zhu Wenhao reached out to take them and pushed the two canisters of tea to the center of the chessboard table.

"Grandfather," Zhu Wenhao said.

"I heard from Mother that you have always loved drinking tea. I came in a hurry, and this is a small token of respect for you."

Li Zhenguo lowered his gaze and picked up one of the white-wrapped tea canisters.

It was extremely light.

He unscrewed the sealed lid of the iron canister.

A deep, mellow tea fragrance with a faint hint of bitterness from grass and wood drifted out from the mouth of the canister, filling the air in the small space.

Li Zhenguo's movement of peeling back the inner tin foil stopped.

He lifted the tea canister, brought it close to his nose, and took a careful sniff.

Ripples instantly appeared in the old man's cloudy eyes.

He was all too familiar with this scent.

In the past, when he held the high position of the third-in-command of Jiangnan Province, this was part of the quota distributed by the relevant departments during festivals.

This kind of tea was produced in the core area of a specific famous mountain; it did not enter the market and had no labels.

After retreating to the second line, as the saying goes, "when people leave, the tea goes cold," and he hadn't smelled this kind of item for several years.

Li Zhengxing, who was on the side, smelled this peculiar tea fragrance and his eyelids suddenly lifted, his gaze locked firmly on the two plain white paper-wrapped canisters.

He knew better than Li Zhenguo what this white-wrapped tea meant in terms of heaven-defying resources under the current regulations.

Li Zhenguo's withered fingers, holding the tea canister, rubbed against the edge.

He raised his head and looked again at the twenty-four-year-old grandson in front of him.

Secretary Zhu Tianhe's toughness in Linjiang, Minister Xiao Dingyu's defection in the Provincial Organization Department, and Director Qi Shan's swift and decisive actions in the Provincial Public Security Department.

And even now, these two canisters of white-wrapped tea.

These clues threaded through Li Zhenguo's mind, weaving into a huge and indestructible network.

This network had long since surpassed the remaining foundation of the Li Faction.

The family power succession he had painstakingly planned appeared so thin and ridiculous in the face of absolute crushing strength.

Zhu Wenhao did not need the Li family as a backer.

On the contrary, if the Li family still wanted to maintain their dignity in this Jiangnan Province, they would need to rely on the breath of the person in front of them.

Li Zhenguo slowly closed the lid of the canister, making a slight metallic clink.

"Zhu Wenhao, this tea..." Li Zhenguo's voice was weary.

"If you like it, keep it and drink it slowly," Zhu Wenhao said calmly.

Each emperor has his own courtiers; change never shifts according to individual will.

He turned his head and looked at the former subordinate standing on the side of the desk.

"Minister Xiao Dingyu." Li Zhenguo sighed deeply, his whole person revealing a sense of twilight old age.

"You are right. Zhu Wenhao is our future."