222: Chapter 222 Report

He sat in his office, picked up the phone on the desk, and dialed the number for the Criminal Investigation Brigade.

The night was already deep, and the corridor was very quiet.

"Old Sun, come to my office."

Criminal Investigation Brigade Captain Sun Jianguo arrived in ten minutes. When he entered, Director Li Zhongmin was standing by the window, with his back to the door.

Hearing the footsteps, he turned around and pointed to the chair opposite him.

Sun Jianguo sat down, waiting for him to speak.

"The provincial department is watching the Cuican Fireworks case, and the City Public Security Bureau is watching it too. We are caught in the middle, and the pressure is immense."

"I asked you to come today because I want to tell you that we have been watching this person, Zheng Ze, for a long time."

"He has been operating in Changyuan County for many years and has quite a few people under him."

"Wei Bao is his lackey, usually collecting protection money, lending usurious loans, and handling some shady business for him."

"As for tonight's incident, on the surface, it was Wei Bao's nephew, Li Liancun, rear-ending a car after drinking, but in reality, it was instigated by Zheng Ze behind the scenes."

"His goal is simple: to cause trouble for County Magistrate Xu and vent his anger."

Sun Jianguo was a veteran investigator; he understood the meaning behind these words clearly.

He nodded and said with a firm voice, "Director Li, I understand. I will interrogate Li Liancun overnight and dig out the line leading to Zheng Ze."

Director Li Zhongmin stood up, walked over to him, and patted his shoulder.

"Go."

"Pay attention to your methods. Do not use torture or coercion, and do not violate any laws or disciplines, but ensure you get the necessary information."

Early the next morning, Li Liancun's confession was delivered to Du Wen's desk.

Du Wen was the Executive Deputy Director of the Public Security Bureau. He had just turned thirty this year and was the apprentice trained by Secretary Liu Qingfeng of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission when he served as a detachment captain at the City Public Security Bureau.

He was young, energetic, had strong professional skills, and had a good reputation in the bureau.

But at this moment, as he looked at the confession in his hand, his brows furrowed tighter and tighter.

The confession stated clearly that Li Liancun admitted he was instigated by Zheng Ze to deliberately rear-end a car on Xu Weidong's way home from work, with the goal of creating trouble for Xu Weidong and letting him know that not everyone in Lüjiang City could be provoked.

Du Wen read the confession over and over again, then took out the original statement given by Li Liancun when he was first arrested last night to compare them.

In the original statement, Li Liancun said that he had been drinking, hadn't seen the road clearly, and had accidentally rear-ended the car, having nothing to do with anyone else.

Overnight, the confession had completely changed, and even the name of the instigator was written clearly on it.

Du Wen leaned back in his chair and tapped his fingers lightly on the desk.

He had worked in the public security system for so many years; he knew the tricks of the trade too well.

Li Liancun was not a tough nut to crack; he spilled everything during the first interrogation, but the content was completely different from last night, which meant someone had coached him.

Who had this ability?

Who could enter the interrogation center in the middle of the night, see Li Liancun, and make him willingly change his statement?

Sun Jianguo went to the interrogation center last night, but Sun Jianguo did not have the guts, nor the necessity, to incite a retraction of the statement.

The person behind this must be Director Li Zhongmin.

Du Wen stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the gray sky outside.

He quickly analyzed the pros and cons of this matter in his mind. Why would Director Li Zhongmin change the confession?

To drag Zheng Ze into the water?

And who was Zheng Ze?

The youngest son of Zheng Dongguo, the weak point of the Zheng family.

The feud between Xu Weidong and the Zheng family was known throughout the county.

Director Li Zhongmin was Xu Weidong's man. By doing this, it seemed he was clearing obstacles for Xu Weidong.

But he handled it too crudely. Once a matter like changing a confession was exposed, not only would Director Li Zhongmin be in deep trouble, but even Xu Weidong would be put in a passive position.

Du Wen turned around, picked up the confession from the desk, and stuffed it into his briefcase.

He decided to go find Secretary Liu Qingfeng. Secretary Liu Qingfeng was his mentor, having struggled and climbed in the officialdom for so many years; what kind of storms hadn't he seen?

He wasn't sure about this matter and needed his mentor to help him analyze it.

Secretary Liu Qingfeng's office was on the third floor of the County Party Committee building. When Du Wen knocked and entered, Secretary Liu Qingfeng was reading documents.

Seeing him enter, Secretary Liu Qingfeng put down his pen, pointed to the chair opposite, and spoke in a flat tone.

"Little Du, so early? Is something the matter?"

Du Wen took out the confession from his briefcase and handed it to Secretary Liu Qingfeng with both hands.

"Mentor, please take a look at this. Last night, County Magistrate Xu's car was rear-ended. The perpetrator is named Li Liancun, and he hangs out with Wei Bao."

"Last night's original statement said it was drunk driving, an accidental rear-end. Then it mentioned his backer, Wei Bao. This Wei Bao is the cousin of our county's famous entrepreneur, Financial Director Wei Xue."

"When I looked again this morning, the confession had completely changed, saying it was instigated by Zheng Ze, deliberately looking for trouble."

Secretary Liu Qingfeng took the confession, read it from beginning to end, leaned back in his chair, and then looked at Du Wen.

"Do you think there's a problem here?"

Du Wen nodded, leaned forward slightly, and lowered his voice, carrying the excitement of having discovered a major clue.

"Mentor, there is definitely a problem. I saw Li Liancun's original statement from last night, and it's completely different from this."

"Changing the confession overnight, someone must have coached him. The only people who could enter the interrogation center in the middle of the night to see him, besides the people from the Criminal Investigation Brigade, would be Director Li Zhongmin."

"Director Li Zhongmin went to the interrogation center last night, and after he returned, Li Liancun's statement changed."

"Mentor, there's something going on here."

Secretary Liu Qingfeng didn't speak. He picked up his teacup and took a sip, his gaze landing on Du Wen's face as if looking at a child who hadn't grown up yet.

Seeing him not speak, Du Wen thought he was pondering the importance of the matter and hurriedly added a few more sentences, his tone more urgent.

"Mentor, this matter could be big or small. To put it simply, it's just Li Liancun rear-ending a car after drinking, a public security case, and he'd be done after being detained for a few days."

"To put it seriously, it's Zheng Ze instigating others to pick a quarrel and provoke trouble, with County Magistrate Xu as the target."

"If this is confirmed, Zheng Ze won't be able to escape."

"And think about it, Zheng Ze is from the Zheng family, and the Zheng family has been operating in Lüjiang City for decades. If this matter blows up, it might trigger political turmoil in Lüjiang City and even the entire Fengtian Province."

"If we report this situation to County Magistrate Xu, he will definitely take it seriously, and for us..."

"Enough."

Secretary Liu Qingfeng put down the teacup and interrupted him. His voice wasn't loud, but his tone was heavy.

Du Wen was stunned and stopped talking.

Secretary Liu Qingfeng stood up, walked to the window with his back to Du Wen, and put his hands in his trouser pockets.

"Little Du, you've worked in the public security system for so many years, why are you still so impulsive?"

"Do you think you've discovered some incredible secret?"

"Do you think if you tell County Magistrate Xu about this, he will look at you with new respect? You are too naive."

Du Wen opened his mouth to say something, but Secretary Liu Qingfeng didn't give him the chance. He turned around and looked at him, his gaze filled with the disappointment of someone who wished for him to be better but found him lacking.

"Think about it, who is Xu Weidong? Who stands behind him? How many storms has he weathered in these years in Changyuan County?"

"Township Head Jiang Tiansheng, Director Qi Heng, Deputy County Magistrate Liu Changde—which one of them wasn't toppled by him?"

"Which one of them didn't have a higher rank, deeper seniority, or stronger connections than him? Does he need you to provide him with any clues? Does he need you to help him analyze any situation?"

"Do you think what you can think of, he can't? Do you think what you see, he doesn't see?"

Du Wen lowered his head. Secretary Liu Qingfeng walked back to the desk, picked up the confession, and weighed it in his hand as if it were a stone that lacked weight.

"This confession, whether it's true or not, it has already become true."

"Do you believe it? Since Director Li Zhongmin dared to change the confession, he has already made foolproof preparations."

"He must have already arranged things with Li Liancun; no matter who comes to investigate, no matter how many times he is interrogated, the confession will not change again."

"Do you think you can topple Director Li Zhongmin by exposing this matter? What do you have to topple him with? Do you have witnesses? Will Li Liancun listen to you? Do you have physical evidence? Recordings or videos?"

"You have nothing."

"You only have your own suspicions."

"Your suspicions, in the officialdom, are worth absolutely nothing."

A layer of fine sweat seeped from Du Wen's forehead. He wanted to defend himself, wanting to say he was acting out of public duty, fearing that Director Li Zhongmin's non-compliant operations would affect the image of the Public Security Bureau.

Secretary Liu Qingfeng looked at him, a bitter smile appearing at the corner of his mouth, as if watching a child who hadn't grown up fall into a mud pit for the first time.

"Little Du, do you think the feud between Xu Weidong and the Zheng family is something you can interfere with?"

"Who do you think Zheng Ze is? He has been running rampant in Lüjiang City for so many years; why hasn't anyone touched him?"

"Is it because of how powerful he is?"

"No, it's because the Zheng family stands behind him."

"Director Li Zhongmin is just going with the flow, and Xu Weidong is just turning a blind eye."

"This setup was laid out from the moment Zheng Ze called Deputy Secretary You Chuan."

"The sealing of Cuican Fireworks, General Manager Hu Dakuan's flight, the inspection by the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection—every step is a chess move."

"Do you think Director Li Zhongmin changing a confession is a huge deal?"

"In this grand scheme, it doesn't even count as a splash."

"If you run to Xu Weidong now and say, 'Director Li Zhongmin changed the confession, this is fake, please don't be deceived.'"

"How do you think Xu Weidong will see you? Will he think you are upright? Will he think you are reliable?"

Du Wen raised his head to look at Secretary Liu Qingfeng. In his eyes, there was no longer the excitement and urgency from before, but something indescribable.

Secretary Liu Qingfeng threw the confession onto the desk and sat back in his chair.

"Little Du, listen to me on this matter: just act as if you discovered nothing."

"As for that confession, believe whatever Director Li Zhongmin says."

"Zheng Ze instigating Li Liancun to rear-end the car, this matter is set in stone; no one can overturn the case."

"Keep this matter buried in your stomach; do not mention it to anyone."

"On Director Li Zhongmin's side, cooperate when you should, report when you should, and don't show any signs of abnormality."

"As for Xu Weidong, don't go trying to curry favor."

"At your current rank, you don't count for anything in his eyes. If you go, he won't take you seriously."

Du Wen stood up and nodded.

He walked to the door and stopped, not turning back.

"Mentor, was I too anxious?"

Secretary Liu Qingfeng watched his back and was silent for a moment.

"It's not anxious; it's stupid."

"In the officialdom, there are many smart people, but those who can make it to the end are often not the smartest, but the ones who can keep their composure the best."

"You are still young; you have plenty of opportunities."

"But you must learn when to speak and when to shut up."

"Today, you belong to the time when you should shut up."

"Remember, there is no one more suitable to serve as a scapegoat than an easy mark like Zheng Ze to satisfy everyone's interests."

"The more blame Zheng Ze takes, the faster the Zheng family will fall, and the sooner the goals of certain people in the province will be achieved."

"As for the truth?"

"The truth is not important."

"What's important is that everyone needs an enemy, an enemy they can unite against and face together."

"Zheng Ze is that enemy."

Du Wen turned around, bowed deeply, opened the door, and walked out.

The sunlight in the corridor was a bit dazzling. He stood for a while with his eyes squinted, then strode toward the stairwell.