308: Chapter 308 The Absolute Core

The car drove out of the Jingjiang City downtown area and onto the expressway returning to Linjiang.

Inside the car, the warm air dispelled the chill of midwinter. Su Qinghan held the steering wheel, while Zhu Wenhao in the passenger seat closed his eyes to rest.

In the confrontation at the Li Family Old Residence just now, he had managed to reprimand the impatient Li Zhengxing with just a few words, and more importantly, he had drawn that heavyweight figure, Minister Xiao Dingyu of the Provincial Organization Department, into a game where deep dialogue was possible.

A burst of phone vibration broke the silence inside the car.

Zhu Wenhao glanced at the car's display screen and connected the Bluetooth. On the other end of the line was Director Xu Jie.

"Zhu Wenhao, the Liu Family has made their move." Director Xu Jie's tone was extremely low. "Executive Deputy Minister Liu personally gave the order. A batch of incriminating materials targeting Linjiang City and Qingjiang County has been anonymously submitted to the case management office of the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection. They have already registered and filed them there."

Zhu Wenhao gave a brief response and cut the connection.

He turned his head to look at Su Qinghan. "Executive Deputy Minister Liu has played his second card. An anonymous report, pointing directly at your mining restructuring and fund allocation in Heishi Town, even digging up the resumes of some of the Li Family's former subordinates from years ago."

"Executive Deputy Minister Liu didn't gain any advantage at the sanatorium; this is an attempt to force us into a state of confusion," Zhu Wenhao said. "These materials definitely lack solid proof. At most, they are just listing some unfounded cross-references of funds and personnel connections."

Su Qinghan nodded. "That's right. If he had ironclad evidence, he would have reported it under his real name long ago. This kind of anonymous, borderline tactic is purely meant to disgust people."

"A dull knife cutting meat—this is a psychological game." Zhu Wenhao tapped his index finger on his knee. "When experts clash, the emphasis is on psychological warfare. That old fox, Executive Deputy Minister Liu, never expected the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection to actually find anything. He is forcing us to lose our footing and jump voluntarily into the pit he has dug."

He broke down the situation meticulously. "Once the materials enter the case management office of the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection, they go through the legal process. If we go to Secretary Guo of the Discipline Inspection Commission to suppress the materials, we will fall right into his trap. As long as Executive Deputy Minister Liu can pin the label of 'The Li Family interfering with the Discipline Inspection Commission's case handling' on us, Secretary Lei Zhen's old accounts can logically be splashed onto us."

Su Qinghan felt a chill down her spine as she listened. This was a dead end. Suppressing the materials would show a guilty conscience; not suppressing them would mean the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection would conduct a preliminary investigation according to protocol, and Heishi Town would be dragged down by endless scrutiny.

"Then what should we do? Just let them splash dirty water on us?" Su Qinghan asked.

"It is better to prove one's innocence to the world than to stop the mouths of the people." Zhu Wenhao took out his phone. "If power fears being brought into the light, it means what one holds is not public power."

He dialed the landline in the study of the Li Family Old Residence.

It was Li Zhenguo who answered the phone.

"Grandfather, there has been movement from the case management office of the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection." Zhu Wenhao went straight to the point.

On the other end of the line, Li Zhenguo's voice was calm. "I just received the news. Your eldest uncle is in the living room, as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, jumping up and down saying he wants to quickly contact Secretary Guo of the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection to operate privately and seal the files before the materials are reported."

"He is handing the Liu Family a victory on a silver platter." Zhu Wenhao hit the nail on the head. "The Liu Family is just waiting for us to make a mistake. Once we try to cover our tracks, we will only confirm that we have something to hide."

Li Zhenguo snorted coldly on the phone. "I scolded him right back! I, Li Zhenguo, walk upright and sit straight; I have never engaged in such shady little tricks in my life. As for these materials, we will not manage them, we will not ask about them, and we will not pay any attention to them!"

"Grandfather is wise." Zhu Wenhao offered his countermeasure. "Using stillness to control movement is the first step. But silence alone is not enough; we must take the initiative to show our trump cards to those who can make the final decision."

After hanging up, Zhu Wenhao called Director Xu Jie and asked.

"When will Team Leader Chen Heming's working group arrive in Jiangnan Province?" he asked.

Team Leader Chen Heming was an independent force sent down by the Discipline Inspection Commission in The Capital to thoroughly investigate Secretary Lei Zhen's case. He was not involved in any factions, recognized only the rules, and was a true "Imperial Envoy."

"According to the schedule, it will be around the Lantern Festival," Director Xu Jie replied.

"Contact Team Leader Chen Heming's secretary," Zhu Wenhao decided on the plan. "Package all the transaction records from the three-party supervision accounts of Heishi Town, the original agreements for the mining restructuring, and the videos of public supervision reviews. In the name of the Heishi Town Party Committee, take the initiative to submit an application for verification to the Central Working Group!"

The Liu Family wanted to drag the Li Family into the provincial quagmire to slowly wear them down, but Zhu Wenhao countered by taking a clean, transparent ledger and, bypassing both the provincial and municipal levels, slapped it right in front of the highest-level Imperial Envoy.

This was what you called a dimensional strike!

As long as Team Leader Chen Heming recognized the legal standards of Heishi Town, those few anonymous materials from the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection would become waste paper that would collapse without being attacked.

"I'll do it right away!" Director Xu Jie hung up the phone.

Jingjiang City, Li Zhengxing's place of stay.

After Li Zhengxing came out of the Li Family Old Residence, the more he thought about it, the more he felt he couldn't just sit and wait for death. His father was old and sought stability in everything, and what did a young brat like Zhu Wenhao know about balance? He felt that only by stepping forward himself could he save the Li Family.

Without an appointment, he went straight to the office of Minister Xiao Dingyu of the Provincial Organization Department.

The secretary went in to announce him for a full ten minutes before inviting him in.

Minister Xiao Dingyu was sitting behind a large desk, reviewing an inspection report. Seeing Li Zhengxing enter, he didn't put down his pen, but just raised his hand and pointed to the chair opposite him.

"Zhengxing, running to the Organization Department during the New Year, is there something urgent?" Minister Xiao Dingyu's tone was polite but distant.

Li Zhengxing sat down in the chair and lowered his voice. "Minister, the case of Secretary Lei Zhen has caused a huge uproar, and the cadres below are in a state of panic. I came mainly to ask the Organization Department about the direction of things. Regarding the Liu Family..."

"Zhengxing." Minister Xiao Dingyu interrupted him, gently placing his fountain pen on the desk.

His eyes, which understood the ways of the world, stared at Li Zhengxing. "The Organization Department is in charge of the selection and appointment of cadres, not factional entanglements. You ran to me to ask about the Liu Family's direction; you've come to the wrong door."

Li Zhengxing hit a soft nail and had to bite the bullet and continue. "Minister, there have been significant personnel changes in Linjiang and Qingjiang recently. County Mayor Gu Mingchuan of Qingjiang County has too little seniority. When the Provincial Party Committee is coordinating..."

He hinted, wanting to use the hand of the Organization Department to mix sand into the personnel arrangements and demonstrate his own sense of presence.

Minister Xiao Dingyu leaned back in his chair and picked up his teacup.

He understood everything clearly in his heart.

The eldest son of the Li Family had rushed over in a hurry, and the first thing he did was to undermine his own people.

Compared to Zhu Wenhao, this level of vision was simply worlds apart.

"Zhengxing, the Provincial Party Committee has an overall consideration for the appointment of cadres." Minister Xiao Dingyu blew away the floating tea leaves. "Whether Comrade County Mayor Gu Mingchuan is working solidly in Qingjiang County, the common people know it in their hearts."

He put down the teacup, his gaze sharp.

"Are you asking the way for the Li Family, or are you looking for a way for yourself?"

This one sentence pierced straight into Li Zhengxing's lungs.

Li Zhengxing opened his mouth but couldn't answer a single word. His selfish desire to take advantage of the situation to seize power and compromise with the Liu Family was stripped bare in front of an old hand like Minister Xiao Dingyu.

"During the New Year, spend more time with Elder Li." Minister Xiao Dingyu picked up his teacup; the implication to see him out could not be more obvious.

Li Zhengxing slunk out of the Provincial Organization Department building. The cold wind outside blew on his face, but he felt a wave of heat. For the first time, he truly felt that in this power reshuffle in Jiangnan Province, he had become the most ridiculous outsider.

Linjiang City, Heishi Town.

Night fell, and the courtyard of the Town Government was quiet.

Inside the Deputy Secretary's office, Zhu Wenhao was reviewing the business data for the South Street merchants that had just been compiled. When the common people's purses are full, the place has enough confidence.

The internal phone on his desk rang.

Director Xu Jie walked in holding a fax, her expression solemn but with a hint of excitement.

"Zhu Wenhao." Director Xu Jie placed the fax on the desk. "The reply from The Capital has arrived."

Zhu Wenhao put down the document, his gaze falling on the header of the fax.

"Team Leader Chen Heming's working group secretary has given a definite answer." Director Xu Jie's tone was clear. "They have accepted all the materials from Heishi Town. Group Leader Chen personally gave instructions that he is very interested in this approach of completely placing grassroots finances under the sun."

She paused for a moment.

"The working group will head south after the holiday, and the schedule for the first stop has been slightly adjusted. They will not go to Jingjiang City to listen to routine reports; they will go directly to Qingjiang County!"

Zhu Wenhao leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping steadily twice on the ebony desk.

This game of chess had completely come alive.

"If the water isn't stirred up, how can the silt be washed away?" Zhu Wenhao cast his gaze toward the thick night outside the window. "Since the Imperial Envoy is coming, let's make this play in Qingjiang County even louder. If the Liu Family wants to watch us make a fool of ourselves, then let them see what it means for the law to be as immovable as a mountain!"

This power struggle spanning provinces and cities was about to face its most violent storm with the arrival of the Central Working Group. And Heishi Town was the absolute center of this storm.