Right path to power

"District Chief, that Lin fellow has gone too far."

"Whoever has a different opinion will be investigated?"

"We live in a society governed by the rule of law. How can they still so blatantly exclude dissidents?"

"We can't let him run wild like this, or things will get really messy."

Before even sitting down, Deng Guanglin began speaking in quick succession.

Yang Songfeng said helplessly, "They have connections in the court, so naturally they can act with impunity."

Deng Guanglin sneered, "I don't believe his body is completely naked and without a speck of dirt."

"I'm not sure if they did, but someone must have used this trick in Fengshan and Fuchuan before, and the results were predictable."

Deng Guanglin's eyes lit up: "Doesn't he want to make sweeping changes and completely reshuffle the game? Okay, then let's help him fan the flames even brighter, and see how he handles the aftermath!"

Yang Songfeng looked completely bewildered.

Deng Guanglin leaned closer and whispered his plans. Yang Songfeng listened and added details as he went.

After a long while, the two looked at each other, understanding each other without saying a word.

A cold glint flashed in Yang Songfeng's eyes: "Tell them to stop what needs to be stopped and slow down what needs to be slowed down. Just do as they say, and treat it as a vacation for yourself."

Deng Guanglin's eyes turned cold, and he nodded slightly: "Understood."

Yang Songfeng picked up his teacup, his expression indifferent, and said nothing more.

A silent undercurrent has quietly spread, enveloping the entire Zhenxing District.

Of course, the aftershocks of the disciplinary committee's "three-person incident" have not yet subsided, and many cadres in the district are still on edge, contacting Ji Xiuwu to schedule appointments to report to Lin Xiao and express their attitudes.

However, Lin Xiao simply instructed Ji Xiuwu to write down the names of those who had made appointments, tell them to carry out their work properly, and then wait for notification of an audience.

In this way, Lin Xiao doesn't have to spend a lot of time listening to these people express their loyalty, and he can urge them to implement their work effectively.

On the other end, in the office of the district court president.

With a dark expression, Ke Yongjie called in several vice deans one by one.

On the surface, it was an exchange of work information, but in reality, they wanted to find clues about the whistleblower letter from them.

It turned out that he had received information that there was a letter of complaint about [something] on the desk of Hao Yongren, the secretary of the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection.

Therefore, he immediately suspected that it was a trick by these vice deans.

He analyzed the situation and came up with two main reasons: first, only if he fell could others have the opportunity to take over; second, undermining the enemy from within was the most efficient method.

On Women's Day, the district discipline inspection commission welcomed a somewhat special "guest"—Zhang Zhengchang, the presiding judge in the case of Zhou Huayu, who voluntarily surrendered himself to the authorities.

Upon entering the interrogation room, Zhang Zhengchang was exceptionally proactive, confessing to accepting bribes and revealing the tricks he had played during the trial of Zhou Huayu.

"The perpetrators' confessions could have proven that Zhou Huayu was the mastermind, but I deliberately suppressed this part of the evidence, only accepting their claim that the conflict was initiated spontaneously... During the deliberations of the collegial panel, I led the opinion, determining that there was insufficient evidence to pursue Zhou Huayu's criminal liability, and only ordered civil compensation. The injuries sustained by the assailant were conclusive, and only the law could determine the sentence... I carefully adjusted the wording of the judgment, using my discretionary power to favor Zhou Huayu..."

From this point on, it became clear how Zhou Huayu managed to evade criminal prosecution.

In addition, Zhang Zhengchang confessed that he was instructed by the main leaders of the institute and had no choice but to do so, and requested leniency.

Upon learning that Zhang Zhengchang had surrendered himself and that he had been implicated, Ke Yongjie was so angry that he couldn't utter a single word.

In this situation, we can only leave it to fate.

Two days later, news came from the district public security bureau that Zhou Huayu had been arrested in a substandard hotel in Fengdu, the provincial capital, and was escorted back to the Zhenxing branch at noon that day.

Upon hearing this news, Chief Prosecutor Liao Daming immediately contacted Zhong Haibo, the head of the Public Security Bureau, by phone, requesting the Public Security Bureau to quickly gather sufficient evidence and transfer it to the Procuratorate. The District Procuratorate intends to reopen the prosecution and pursue Zhou Huayu's criminal liability for hiring someone to commit assault and other illegal and criminal acts.

The two men had calm expressions, but they were excited inside.

Ke Yongjie, however, felt increasingly threatened. He called the city leaders to report the situation: "Sir, I'm afraid Zhou Huayu will have to be sentenced according to the law this time. The district is keeping a very close eye on him, especially the Discipline Inspection Commission, which is creating a climate of fear..."

He felt helpless and frustrated, sensing that morale had collapsed and the team was becoming difficult to lead.

Because Zhou Huayu's case was a key case supervised by the Discipline Inspection Commission and the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, all the evidence had been secured and complete, and other procedures had been arranged in advance, the court opened a green channel.

In addition, the original trial judge, Zhang Zhengchang, abused his power and wrongly determined the facts of the case. The district procuratorate has filed an appeal and initiated a retrial to correct the error.

A week later, the retrial of Zhou Huayu's case of hiring someone to commit assault finally began.

In fact, during the retrial process, Ke Yongjie did not completely give up on "rescuing" the case.

At the court's trial committee meeting, he attempted to propose postponing the trial on the grounds that the case was complex and the evidence needed further verification, secretly buying more time for those behind Zhou Huayu to resolve the situation.

However, the other vice presidents unanimously objected, believing that the case was being handled by a special task force, that leaders at all levels were paying attention to it, that the case itself had a great impact, and that the evidence had already been secured, so it should not be delayed any longer and should be dealt with as soon as possible.

Among them, Chen Qizhong, deputy secretary of the Party Committee and vice president of the institute, was the most enthusiastic, as if his previous passion for work had been rekindled.

Ke Yongjie knew that he was currently embroiled in trouble, and that insisting on his decision might backfire. He had no choice but to give up and agree to expedite the trial through the green channel.

In addition, the presiding judge was changed to someone with a close relationship with Chen Qizhong, ensuring the proceedings were handled strictly according to official procedures.

After the court hearing concluded, the presiding judge immediately adjourned the court, and the collegial panel will deliberate on the case and announce the verdict at a later date.

Three days later, Zhou Huayu's case was officially sentenced.

"The defendant, Zhou Huayu, is guilty of intentional injury and is the principal offender in a joint crime. He hired someone to retaliate against administrative law enforcement personnel, demonstrating significant subjective malice. After deliberation by the collegial panel, he is sentenced to five years and six months imprisonment..."

The presiding judge's loud voice resounded throughout the courtroom.

From the audience, Qu Ningbo immediately sent a message to Lin Xiao to inform her of the verdict.

After the court session adjourned, he gave a special report to Lin Xiao: "Secretary Lin, this case has gone through many twists and turns, but now it has finally been settled. I followed and supervised the entire process, and every step was legal and compliant. We are determined to make it an ironclad case."

"Thank you for your hard work, comrade Ningbo." Lin Xiao nodded, then reminded him, "This is only the first trial, and can only be considered a partial victory. We still need to pay attention to the follow-up situation."

"Understood. I suspect Zhou Huayu will most likely appeal. But the facts of the case are clear, and the evidence is conclusive. No matter how many times he appeals, he can't deny it," Qu Ningbo said firmly.

"We must still be vigilant against the malicious actions of those with ulterior motives."

"Don't worry, Secretary. Ke Yongjie is in dire straits right now, barely able to save himself. I don't believe he can cause any trouble."

"It's always better to be careful."

"Yes, Secretary."

"However, this case still serves as a wake-up call for us. If even a case this important to the district has to go through so many twists and turns, what about other cases? Therefore, there are still shortcomings in the judicial work of our Zhenxing District. The Political and Legal Affairs Commission must shoulder its responsibilities, strengthen the supervision of the political and legal team, improve the internal control mechanism, and prevent such incidents from happening again."

"Yes, Secretary, I will get it done as soon as possible."

With Zhou Huayu being sentenced, the rectification progress of other polluting enterprises in the park is also accelerating.

However, it's hard to say whether these bosses are truly convinced, but on the surface, they still cooperate well.

After all, with past examples already laid bare, no one dared to act recklessly in public.

Ultimately, making money is their real goal. They'll do anything to achieve it.

As a result, the air quality in Zhenxing District is getting better day by day, and the complaints from the public are decreasing day by day.

The people cheered with joy, while the officials walked on thin ice.

For a time, Zhenxing District presented a thriving scene.

However, some city leaders do not have a favorable view of this.

In particular, Executive Vice Mayor Cai Zili has raised the issue at several meetings of the Municipal Party Committee Standing Committee, suggesting that the misconduct in Zhenxing District has led to lagging economic development and proposing that the Municipal Party Committee conduct a special inspection.

Bi Fupeng, a member of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee and Vice Mayor, also had strong opinions. He learned from Yang Songfeng that Jinhua Textile, which originally planned to invest 500 million yuan in Zhenxing District, terminated its investment intention because the business environment in the whole city was not very friendly and the city was not very friendly to investors.

Therefore, he not only approached Mayor Ma Guanghua, who had already been officially appointed, but also specifically reported to Party Secretary Wang Yuanze: "Secretary Wang, this is not the first company to be scared away. If this continues, the economy of Zhenxing District will decline, and the entire city will be affected. Do you think we should talk to Comrade Lin Xiao and ask him to stop causing trouble?"

"Making a fuss? How did he make a fuss?"

Wang Yuanze asked calmly.