Nominal: My senior brothers are all big shots

"I understand how you feel," Chen Zhenhua sighed. "So the ministry has decided to commend the outstanding groups and individuals in this operation. The preliminary opinion is to award the entire task force a collective first-class merit; Comrade Qi Tongwei an individual first-class merit; the two seriously injured comrades, Zhang Wei and Liu Qiang, will each receive an individual first-class merit; and the other five lightly injured comrades will receive an individual second-class merit. Of course, this is only a preliminary opinion, and we still need to go through the procedures."

Gao Yuliang immediately realized that this was an extremely significant commendation. A collective first-class merit and three individual first-class merits—this was the highest level of commendation in the public security system.

"We appreciate the Ministry's recognition of our work in Handong Public Security," Gao Yuliang responded. "This is a great encouragement to our frontline officers."

"Of course, those who have made contributions should be rewarded." Chen Zhenhua paused, then changed the subject, "By the way, I also heard that the Jingzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau provided some assistance in this operation?"

Gao Yuliang's eyes narrowed, knowing the main point was coming. "The Jingzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau was indeed involved, but..."

"However, there was an unexpected incident, I know," Chen Zhenhua replied quickly. "I don't know the specifics, but I heard that Director Zhao Donglai of the Municipal Bureau, out of a sense of responsibility, sent people to the scene to investigate without knowing the details. As a result, his good intentions backfired and interfered with your operation."

"Minister Chen, this is more than just interference." Gao Yuliang's voice was slightly low. "Because of the Municipal Bureau's unauthorized intervention, the operation was forced to be brought forward. The drug dealers, in desperation, resorted to desperate measures, which directly resulted in the casualties of seven of our officers. Two of them are still in the ICU, their lives hanging in the balance."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.

"This situation...is indeed serious," Chen Zhenhua said slowly. "Comrade Donglai's approach is definitely problematic. But Secretary Yuliang, we all come from the grassroots level and know the difficulties faced by comrades there. Sometimes, they mean well, wanting to do more work and put in more effort. It's just that their methods are wrong, their experience is insufficient, and the result is counterproductive."

Chen Zhenhua continued, "I heard that Director Zhao Donglai sent people there because your department's Deputy Director Chen Hai gave him a heads-up, saying he thought there might be a problem in that area?"

"Comrade Chen Hai did admit that he had privately reminded Director Zhao." Gao Yuliang emphasized the word "privately."

"You see, this is a bit complicated." Chen Zhenhua's voice remained calm. "Comrade Chen Hai is a leader in the provincial department. He raised doubts, the municipal bureau took it seriously, and sent people to verify. Logically speaking, there doesn't seem to be anything seriously wrong. The mistake lies in the information asymmetry and inadequate communication. If Comrade Chen Hai had known about your major operation in advance, if he had followed procedures, if the municipal bureau had informed the provincial department before the operation... if any one of these points were true, this might not have happened."

Gao Yuliang understood Chen Zhenhua's subtext—he was trying to exonerate Zhao Donglai, shifting the blame to information asymmetry and poor communication, and even implying that Chen Hai was also responsible.

"Minister Chen's analysis makes sense," Gao Yuliang said calmly. "But procedures are procedures, and discipline is discipline. We can't violate procedures just because we have good intentions; we can't disregard discipline just because we want to work. Otherwise, if we forgive one Zhao Donglai today, ten Zhao Donglais might appear tomorrow. How can we lead the police force? How can the command system operate?"

These words were spoken with righteous indignation, but Gao Yuliang knew that since the other party had called in person, they would not give up easily.

Sure enough, Chen Zhenhua chuckled softly. "Secretary Yuliang is right; discipline must be strictly observed. However, when dealing with cadres, we must be realistic and give them a way out. Comrade Zhao Donglai has worked in the public security system for over twenty years, rising from a grassroots police officer to the director of the provincial capital's bureau. Even if he hasn't made any great achievements, he has certainly worked hard. This time he made a mistake, and he deserves criticism and punishment, but could we... give him a chance?"

Gao Yuliang pondered for a moment, then said, "Minister Chen, if I may be so bold, but you care so much about Comrade Zhao Donglai, because he is…"

"Oh, I forgot to tell you," Chen Zhenhua said casually, "Zhao Donglai is my nephew. His father was in the same unit as me back then, and later transferred to civilian work. He passed away a few years ago due to illness, and before he died, he asked me to look after this child."

Having said all that, it's quite clear.

Gao Yuliang quickly weighed the options in his mind. The Vice Minister of Public Security personally pleaded for leniency for Zhao Donglai, offering commendations and merits in exchange.

"I see." Gao Yuliang's tone softened somewhat. "Director Zhao is your nephew, so this matter..."

"Secretary Yuliang, I'm not trying to interfere with your Handong internal affairs," Chen Zhenhua immediately clarified. "How to handle this is up to your province. I'm just offering a suggestion from the perspective of caring for our cadres. Zhao Donglai's mistake this time is a profound lesson, and he should be seriously criticized and educated. But considering his long-standing good performance and the fact that this wasn't intentional, could we... leave some room for leniency in the handling of this matter?"

Gao Yuliang did not answer immediately.

On the other end of the phone, Chen Zhenhua added, "Regarding the commendation, what I just said was only a preliminary opinion. If Handong has any other suggestions, such as mentioning other outstanding comrades, they can bring them up. The ministry will seriously consider them. After all, commending the advanced and promoting righteousness is also an important part of our public security political work."

These were well-spoken words, but Gao Yuliang understood the subtext—if you show leniency towards Zhao Donglai, the list and level of the commendation can be discussed.

The study fell silent, save for the ticking of the wall clock.

Several thoughts flashed through Gao Yuliang's mind. If he severely punished Zhao Donglai, he would inevitably offend Chen Zhenhua, the powerful vice minister, and the Handong public security system would likely have difficulty getting things done within the ministry in the future. If he let Zhao Donglai off the hook, how would he explain it to the injured police officers? How would he maintain the seriousness of discipline? How would he persuade his comrades at the Standing Committee meeting?

More importantly, what about Chen Hai? If only Chen Hai is dealt with and Zhao Donglai is left alone, or if Zhao Donglai is dealt with leniently, what will Sha Ruijin think? How will Zheng Guofeng react?

After weighing the pros and cons, Gao Yuliang slowly spoke, "Minister Chen, since you called personally and are so frank, I'll also be frank with you. This matter is very sensitive right now, and there has been heated debate at the Standing Committee meeting. Director Zhao's problem is no small matter. Seven police officers were injured or killed, and two were seriously injured. Someone must take responsibility for this."

"I understand, I completely understand," Chen Zhenhua quickly replied. "Responsibility must be taken, and mistakes must be corrected. What I mean is... in terms of the degree to which responsibility is taken, could we consider the cadre's consistent performance? Could we consider that he did not act with malicious intent? Could we give him a chance to reform?"

Gao Yuliang paused for a few seconds before finally saying, "Well then, Minister Chen. Regarding the commendation, thank you for the ministry's concern. Personally, I think that in addition to the collective first-class merit you just mentioned, the first-class merits of Qi Tongwei, Zhang Wei, and Liu Qiang, and the second-class merits of the five lightly injured comrades, the frontline commanders of the task force, such as Deputy Director Chen Jianwen in charge of narcotics control and criminal investigation, and Hu Ming from the Narcotics Control Brigade, should also be commended. They took the lead in the operation and were also slightly injured."

This was Gao Yuliang's first condition—to expand the scope of commendations, especially to commend people on his side.

Chen Jianwen and Hu Yang are both on the same side as Gao Yuliang and Qi Tongwei, and Gao Yuliang is trying to gain political capital for them.