50: Chapter 50 The Knife Handle

At the end of March, Yancheng.

On the afternoon the Two Sessions drew to a close, a highly anticipated appointment was announced from Yancheng.

Comrade Xu Tianhua was appointed as the Party Committee Secretary and Commander-in-Chief of the Knife Handle.

The night the news broke, countless people found themselves unable to sleep.

Hukuang Township in Changyuan County, Lüjiang City—a small northeastern town over two thousand kilometers away from Yancheng—naturally did not feel the shockwave immediately.

But the shockwave would eventually arrive, just like spring thunder: first comes the rumble, and only then does the torrential rain pour down.

In early April, the national special campaign against human trafficking was officially launched.

The scale and profile of this campaign exceeded everyone's expectations.

The Knife Handle directly established a special campaign steering group, personally deployed by the new Commander-in-Chief, and the first batch of steering groups was dispatched to Fengtian Province.

The Fengtian Provincial Public Security Department held an emergency meeting overnight, and the director's speech at the meeting consisted of only one sentence.

"The message from above is very clear. As one of the first batch of key provinces, Fengtian must deliver results and establish model cases."

At the same time, a series of personnel adjustments were implemented.

The former Secretary of the Fengtian Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Commission, Deputy Secretary, was reassigned as the Deputy Secretary of the Party Leadership Group of the Provincial CPPCC.

On paper, it was a lateral transfer, but anyone with a keen eye knew he was being moved from a position of real power to the second line, preparing for retirement.

Replacing him was Minister Ma Fuqiang, the former Vice Governor and Director of the Public Security Department of Xishan Province.

The newly appointed Executive Vice Governor of Fengtian Province, Governor Zhou Wenbin, was the former Mayor of Tianzhou City.

Tianzhou City is a sub-provincial city. The most famous thing Governor Zhou Wenbin did during his tenure was cooperating with Xu Tianhua to take down the underworld forces that had entrenched themselves in Tianzhou City for many years.

The newly appointed Secretary of the Fengtian Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection, Secretary of the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection Li Gang, was the former Executive Deputy Secretary of the Hanzhong Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection.

His earlier resume showed that he had served as the Secretary of the Municipal Discipline Inspection Commission in Dongjiang City and had long maintained a united front with Xu Tianhua.

By mid-April, these pieces of news flew into the Lüjiang Municipal Party Committee Compound like snowflakes.

Secretary Xu Qing, the Secretary of the Municipal Political and Legal Affairs Commission, sat in his office, the ashtray in front of him already full.

He smoked one cigarette after another, his face so pale and defeated that he did not look like someone in his early fifties.

Several documents were spread across his desk, the top one being the "Urgent Notice on Cooperating with the National Special Campaign Against Human Trafficking" issued by the Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Commission.

The notice required the Political and Legal Affairs Commissions of all municipalities to immediately establish special work groups, and the Secretaries of the Municipal Political and Legal Affairs Commissions to fully cooperate with the steering groups.

Secretary Xu Qing stared at the notice, his fingers trembling slightly.

The matter of Qili Village was something he had personally put a stop to.

When he made that phone call, he knew Xu Weidong would hold a grudge, but he never expected the retaliation to come so quickly and so ruthlessly.

A political earthquake had directly struck the province!

It was utterly ridiculous!

Secretary Xu Qing stubbed out his cigarette, picked up the phone, and dialed a number.

"Hello, this is Secretary Xu Qing."

"Is Elder Zheng at home? I have an important matter to report..."

Changyuan County, Hukuang Township.

The snow of March had long melted, and the April breeze carried the scent of soil, making one's heart itch with anticipation.

On Xu Weidong's desk lay a newly delivered document titled "Notice on the Establishment of the Lüjiang City Leading Group for the Special Campaign to Combat the Trafficking of Women and Children." The leader of the leading group was Secretary Lin Juncai, and the name of Secretary Xu Qing was prominently listed among the deputy leaders.

Xu Weidong looked at the name, an enigmatic smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

He knew his father would make a move, but he hadn't expected it to be on such a massive scale and so quickly.

His cell phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID and answered it.

"Dad."

"Have you seen the document?"

Xu Tianhua's voice came from the other end of the line, devoid of any discernable emotion.

"I have."

"That steering group will stay in Fengtian for a while. On your end, you can start doing what needs to be done."

Xu Weidong fell silent for a second, then said, "Dad, thank you."

On the other end of the line, Xu Tianhua chuckled and said, "Thank you for what?"

"I am the Commander-in-Chief of the Knife Handle. Combating human trafficking is my duty."

"To be honest, I'm also quite apprehensive right now. After all, on my very first day in the Knife Handle, I became its supreme commander. What a situation..."

After hanging up, Xu Weidong stood by the window, gazing at the spring scenery outside.

He picked up the phone and dialed Director Li Zhongmin's number.

"Director Li, come to my office for a moment."

Zheng Dongguo's villa was located in the eastern suburbs of Lüjiang City. It occupied a large area, but the interior was simple, looking just like the residence of an ordinary retired veteran cadre.

Only those in the know knew how many major decisions concerning Lvjiang City had once been decided within this inconspicuous house.

At this moment, Zheng Dongguo sat in his study with a cup of tea in front of him, which had long gone cold.

Sitting opposite him was Deputy Secretary You Chuan, the Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee. The two remained silent for a long time.

Zheng Dongguo spoke first, "Secretary Xu Qing called me just now. Even his voice had changed."

Deputy Secretary You Chuan nodded but said nothing.

"He asked what he should do."

Zheng Dongguo picked up the cold tea, took a sip, and set it down again.

"I didn't give him an answer."

Deputy Secretary You Chuan still did not speak. Zheng Dongguo looked at him and suddenly sighed, "You Chuan, you have followed me for so many years, and I have taught you many things."

"But regarding today's matter, I want to hear your opinion."

Deputy Secretary You Chuan fell silent for a long time before slowly speaking up, "Elder Zheng, is there anything unsavory on Secretary Xu Qing's side?"

"In a place like Lvjiang City, after working for so many years, who can be completely clean?"

"Elder Zheng, my point is that some things should be destroyed when they need to be destroyed, and severed when they need to be severed."

"Secretary Xu Qing's position is already at the eye of the storm."

"Now that the steering group is here, someone has to take responsibility."

Zheng Dongguo looked at him with a complex gaze, "You mean, let Secretary Xu Qing take the fall?"

"I didn't say that."

"I'm just saying, if someone wants to investigate, there must be an explanation."

"As for who that explanation will be... Elder Zheng, you know better than I do."

Zheng Dongguo fell silent for a long time before saying, "You Chuan, tell me, the supreme commander of the Knife Handle has mobilized so many people. Will sacrificing a deputy-department-level official like Secretary Xu Qing be enough to satisfy him?"

Deputy Secretary You Chuan froze for a moment, then smiled bitterly, "Elder Zheng, I dare not answer this question."

"Why?"

"Because I don't know what he wants."

"I've been an official for so many years and have seen all kinds of people."

"Some are greedy for money, some for power, and some for fame."

"But Commander-in-Chief Xu... I cannot see through him."

"In last year's storm, he took down Deputy Secretary, Party Secretary of CPPCC, and Chairman—a Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, a Secretary of the Party Leadership Group of the Provincial CPPCC, and a leading private entrepreneur in the province."

"Which of these people wasn't higher-ranking than Secretary Xu Qing? Which of them wasn't more important than Secretary Xu Qing? Yet he moved against them without even blinking."

Zheng Dongguo caught the underlying meaning. It seemed that this storm would still have to bring down some heavyweight figures to preserve the dignity of those big shots up above.

"And then there's his son."

"Twenty-four years old, at the deputy-section level—in our eyes, he's nothing more than a minor pawn."

"Yet Xu Tianhua was willing to mobilize so many resources for him."

"Elder Zheng, what do you think he is after?"

Zheng Dongguo remained silent for a long time before slowly speaking, "What is he after? He wants everyone to know that no one can touch his, Xu Tianhua's, son."

Deputy Secretary You Chuan kept his head lowered and did not speak.

Both of them knew this was merely an excuse on the surface. The things hidden in Qili Village were enough to force certain people to yield their positions.

"You Chuan, tell me, if Commander-in-Chief Xu really wants to make a move on Lvjiang City, can those people stop him?"

Deputy Secretary You Chuan paused, and his voice lowered.

"Elder Zheng, the question now is not whether they can stop him, but whether he wants to make a move at all."

Zheng Dongguo leaned back against his chair and closed his eyes, remaining silent for a long time.

"In the end, Qili Village is still too dirty... It is the fault of us, the local leaders!"

Zheng Dongguo was trying to wash his hands of the matter, so Deputy Secretary You Chuan asked tentatively, "Elder Zheng, then as for Secretary Xu Qing's side..."

Zheng Dongguo waved his hand and said, "Secretary Xu Qing's matters, he will have to carry them himself."

"If he can bear it, it's his good fortune."

"If he can't, then it is simply his fate."

Deputy Secretary You Chuan nodded and said nothing more.

Sacrificing the chariot to save the general.

Coming out of Zheng Dongguo's villa, Deputy Secretary You Chuan sat in his car, not starting the engine for a long time.

*Sigh, after striving for more than half my life, in the end, I don't even have the qualification to be a pawn...*

*A casual deployment on their part is enough to turn Fengtian upside down...*

*Are the higher-ups coddling Xu Tianhua a bit too much?*

*Are they really grooming him as... the successor?*

*Didn't Heishui personally dispel the rumors back then?*

*With things developing like this... can this be right?*