426: Chapter 426 What's the use of keeping you around?

Minister He Jilin knew Principal Li Jiandong quite well and knew the man was a coward; if he were to be dragged into this, it would be a troublesome matter.

Thus, he personally went to Qin Chuan to plead for Principal Li Jiandong.

He believed that Principal Li Jiandong was just a small fry who only enjoyed section-level treatment, and that if he personally intervened, Qin Chuan would surely give him this face.

“Secretary Qin, Li Jiancheng just made a small mistake. Don't worry, I will definitely criticize him severely.”

Heh, was this just a small mistake?

Would a simple criticism suffice?

Qin Chuan said solemnly, “Comrade He Jilin, it's not as simple as Principal Li Jiandong making a small mistake. His issues are very serious. I have already instructed the Discipline Inspection Commission to intervene, conduct a thorough investigation, and punish him without leniency!”

What!

Minister He Jilin's expression changed slightly, and he was filled with fury. He wished he could kill Qin Chuan right then and there. Damn it, I personally came here to plead, yet this guy surnamed Qin didn't give me any face at all.

Suppressing the fire in his heart, Minister He Jilin lowered his posture as much as possible. “Secretary Qin, there's no need for this, is there? It's just a minor issue. How about you leave it to me to handle?”

Qin Chuan did not give him any face. “Comrade He Jilin, do not involve yourself in this matter. If there is nothing else, you may leave.”

Heh.

Give you face? Is that even possible!

Even if Principal Li Jiandong had nothing to do with you, I wouldn't let such a person off. The impact is too negative; I must make an example of him to properly rectify Dongjiang City's education system.

Since things had been put so bluntly, Minister He Jilin knew there was no hope. He could only say helplessly, “Secretary Qin, then I won't disturb you further. Everything will be as you say.”

These words were spoken quite gracefully, and he didn't show any dissatisfaction on his face, but the moment he stepped out of the Municipal Party Secretary's office, his entire face darkened.

Back in his own office, his expression was even more hideous, and he was cursing under his breath. Damn it, you surnamed Qin, since you won't give me face, I'll fight you to the end. Don't let me catch an opportunity, or else I'll drag you down even if I have to be hacked into pieces...

After Qin Chuan watched Minister He Jilin leave, his gaze gradually grew cold.

Among the dozen or so members of the Dongjiang Municipal Standing Committee, most were relatively clean, at most guilty of minor greed or corruption, but some were quite serious, and Minister He Jilin was one of them.

Once again, Qin Chuan sat in his office chair and reviewed the information regarding Minister He Jilin in the system. After some thought, he printed out the section concerning his corruption on A4 paper.

The materials, complete with text and images, spanned over ten pages and were extremely detailed, showing corruption involving over 150 million yuan.

Over a hundred million—this could be considered a massive parasite.

Since you neither listen to me nor align yourself with me, and your corruption is so severe, then what use is there in keeping you!

Qin Chuan had already made up his mind. Using the investigation of Principal Li Jiandong as a catalyst, he would find an appropriate time to hand this information over to the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and send Minister He Jilin away.

Qin Chuan even began to consider who would take over as the minister of publicity of Dongjiang City after Minister He Jilin was gone; several candidates came to mind.

While he was thinking about these things, there was another knock at the door.

Secretary Zhang Dong, a member of the Municipal Standing Committee, Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, and concurrently the Director of the Public Security Bureau, pushed the door open and entered. Qin Chuan calmly placed the printed materials into his desk drawer and said warmly, “Comrade Zhang Dong is here.”

He had a fairly good impression of Secretary Zhang Dong.

Through the system's search function, Qin Chuan also knew that Secretary Zhang Dong was quite upright and clean. He had always been a neutral Standing Committee member, basically just taking care of his own responsibilities and rarely getting involved in other matters.

It would naturally be best if such a neutral Standing Committee member could be won over.

Secretary Zhang Dong had a humble appearance, bowing slightly. “Secretary Qin, I came specifically to apologize to you. Please criticize me; I didn't expect the public security system to have someone like Zhang Youzhi...”

As soon as he entered, he offered a barrage of apologies.

This attitude was quite acceptable.

Who was 'Zhang Youzhi'? He was the Chief Zhang who had responded to the call at Dafeng School and whose bias had been completely towards Li Jiancheng.

Qin Chuan said magnanimously, “Comrade Zhang Dong, as the saying goes, when the forest is large, there are all kinds of birds. With so many police officers in the city, it's normal for one or two bad apples to appear.”

Seeing that Secretary Qin didn't intend to blame him, Secretary Zhang Dong felt a slight relief and reported, “Secretary, after a preliminary investigation, Zhang Youzhi has serious problems. We will definitely deal with him severely...”

Qin Chuan listened attentively and nodded, then chatted with Secretary Zhang Dong for a while about Dongjiang City's public security, the legal system, and so on.

He hadn't expected his office to be so lively today.

Just as Secretary Zhang Dong left, someone else knocked and entered to report on their work. One after another, people kept coming to report.

Secretary Li Wei, a member of the Municipal Standing Committee and Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission, also came in.

His expression was somewhat solemn. He even specifically closed the office door and lowered his voice, saying, “Secretary, our people conducted a deep investigation into Principal Li Jiandong and found that his problems are very serious. They even involve Comrade He Jilin.”

“According to Li Jiancheng's confession, it was Minister He Jilin who helped him secure the position of Principal of Dafeng School. To show his gratitude, he gave Minister He Jilin a million yuan as a thank-you fee. When Minister He Jilin's son got married last time, he gave a full two million...”

After finishing the report, Secretary Li Wei asked for instructions, “Secretary Qin, since it involves Minister He Jilin, should we continue the deep investigation?”

The matter was a bit large, and he was unsure, so he came personally to ask for instructions.

Logically speaking, a mere Principal Li Jiandong wouldn't require the intervention of the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection, but involving Minister He Jilin changed things entirely.

Qin Chuan didn't even have to think. “No matter who is involved, investigate to the end. If necessary, notify the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection.”

Minister He Jilin was a member of the Municipal Standing Committee and thus a provincial-level cadre; investigating him required the intervention of the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection, and the Dongjiang Municipal Party Committee could at most only cooperate with their investigation.

With these instructions, Secretary Li Wei knew what to do.

As he walked out of the Municipal Party Secretary's office, Secretary Li Wei thought to himself, He Jilin, even if you don't die this time, you'll likely lose a layer of skin.

Minister He Jilin was still very well-informed. After all, he was a member of the Municipal Standing Committee with many subordinates and friends in the Discipline Inspection Commission; someone had tipped him off.

Knowing that Principal Li Jiandong had confessed to giving him several gifts totaling millions, he panicked a bit. The first person he thought of was Mayor Liu.

He knocked on the door of the Mayor's office and pleaded as soon as he entered, “Mayor, save me! That guy surnamed Qin wants to destroy me this time.”

Mayor Liu was slightly stunned and soothed him, “Comrade Jilin, what's the matter? Speak slowly.”

Minister He Jilin said, “That guy Qin knows that Principal Li Jiandong is my cousin, so he secretly instructed the people from the Discipline Inspection Commission to intimidate and pressure Li Jiandong into biting me...”

He distorted the facts and added a lot of color to his version of the story.