In name only, I, Gao Yuliang, will sink Handong at worst.

Gao Yuliang arrived at Zhao Lichun's office. Zhao's secretary placed two cups of tea on the table and then left, carefully closing the door without making a sound.

"Yuliang! I've recommended you to be the provincial party secretary. I'm just putting your name on the list; I'm really counting on you to help me protect Handong." Zhao Lichun spoke first.

"Secretary Zhao, Handong is not so easy to defend, and now it's not just you eyeing that position; the Zhong family is about to enter the fray as well. Moreover, there are several other families eyeing that position." Gao Yuliang picked up his teacup and took a sip. He naturally knew what the other party wanted to do: to compete for a higher-level position.

Whether it was due to his early planning after transmigrating or because he disrupted time and space, Gao Yuliang is now only slightly younger than the original Gao Yuliang.

He's only 55 years old now, and has been working in the political and legal system for almost two years.

He is younger than 5758 in the TV series. The difference is not just a year or two, but the possibility of further advancement. The retirement age for deputy ministers is generally 63, when they retire from positions of real power to the National People's Congress or the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Then work for another two or three years and then retire. As for the 24 Heavens and such, it's the same. Unless you can reach a higher level and become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, then whether you retire or not is not up to you.

Zhao Lichun, who is standing in front of us, is 62 years old this year. He has been promoted this time, and now it all depends on whether he can be promoted further within three years.

How should I put it? A large portion of people at this level are in the CPPCC (Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference).

It's impossible to say they have no power, but they do have some power, though not as much as a regional governor.

Zhao Lichun was about to reach for his water glass when he heard Gao Yuliang's words. He paused for a moment, then continued to reach for his glass. He hadn't even received the news himself, so how could the other party have told him this?

He had known for a long time. He knew someone was watching him since Tian Guofu parachuted in half a year ago. He just didn't know who it was. Now Yu Liang told him about the person behind him. The other party's information was far more advanced than his own!

"Yuliang, you don't blame me?" Zhao Lichun asked. Three years ago, he transferred Gao Yuliang from the government to the political and legal system, making him the secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission. It seemed like he was helping Gao Yuliang take a step further, but at that time, the GDP of Luzhou, which Gao Yuliang led, directly surpassed that of Jingzhou, the ancient capital of six dynasties.

Even now, Luzhou's economy still surpasses that of Jingzhou, which shows that Luzhou has been making continuous efforts.

If Gao Yuliang continues to be in the government's mouth, he might be able to achieve even greater success. He is now forcibly binding Gao Yuliang to his own chariot and holding a handle on Gao Yuliang, intending to use Gao Yuliang's power to make another leap forward.

What does Gao Yuliang have? He has many senior students from Wuhan University above him and a group of students from Wuhan University below him. It can be said that, from top to bottom, Gao Yuliang's base is as solid as it gets.

The current state of Han University has declined, but historically it was the number one university in the country, even more prestigious than Tsinghua and Peking Universities are today. Some of the alumni of Han University have already retired, while others are still in their prime.

"How could I not feel resentment? But is resentment any good?"

Gao Yuliang knew that he had other factions behind him, the Liang family and the Wu family, and that he had never been noticed by those senior students.

"Yuliang, I'm so sorry."

"I can't help you in Beijing. At most, I can only stabilize things in Handong. And if you leave, I'll definitely have to clean up a bunch of people."

Zhao Lichun served in Handong for nearly 20 years, and from the beginning he was very high-profile, driving imported cars and using air conditioning. Such things are not considered high-profile now, but they were different in the 1990s.

This is why Chen Yanshi kept talking about it for so long. Of course, it wasn't without Chen Yanshi's flattery of Zhao Lichun. Zhao Lichun had led Handong's development for so long, and the economy had developed well, but there were also many problems. He had previously served as the secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission.

He's capable and has accomplished a lot, but he can't completely eradicate the root of the problem. This includes many groups that had already laundered their money years ago, and he can't directly take action against them. He still has to be careful about the impact on many of them. He's wanted to get rid of these people for a long time.

This kind of thing happens in many places. Reforms happen everywhere. It's a problem of our times. It's just a matter of whether anyone is willing to lift the lid on it.

Sometimes, the demise of businesses impoverishes workers but enriches the pockets of certain individuals.

Furthermore, Zhao Lichun's control over Handong was not based on any provincial party committee standing committee members, but mostly on bureau-level cadres. These were the people who actually did the work and had considerable power. Did they really think Zhao Ruilong was just eating and drinking with those people?

Don't look down on bureau chiefs; how many people never reach that level in their entire lives?

In addition, he also plans to completely wipe out those village bullies, vegetable market bullies, and other thugs, as these are the most detrimental to a happy life. Many people will never come into contact with those so-called gang leaders in most of their lives, but it is these thugs who have the greatest impact on everyone's lives.

There are also Jinghai City and Lvteng City here. Jinghai and Lvteng are just county-level cities, plus Dongshan City, which is also legendary in another province, and there really is a village called Tazhai in it.

In addition, there are executive vice governor Wang Zheng and Jingzhou mayor Wu Xiongfei, all of whom are considered political achievements by him in the political and legal system!

It would be very difficult for ordinary citizens or local officials to bring down these people, but if the attack is launched from within the provincial party committee, then it would be a powerful blow.

These people don't even have the right to voice their opposition, let alone oppose it.

After Zhao Lichun leaves, Governor Liu will only have one year left before retirement, and the affairs of the provincial government will now be handled by the executive vice governor.

Who is the leader among them? It can only be Gao Yuliang. After this round of crackdown on organized crime, he may very well be promoted to the position of provincial party secretary. Even if Sha Ruijin comes, he can still bury him.

Zhao Lichun looked at Gao Yuliang and then nodded. To gain something, you definitely have to give something in return. His departure meant that many people would be eliminated.

Zhao Lichun needed him to stabilize the situation in Handong, while Gao Yuliang needed to eliminate the petty scheming and despicable people in Handong.

"Now let's talk about this year's promotion list! You can keep this list for the people who come after you to make the final decision!"

If it were truly a crucial position and a relevant promotion list, how could it be left for Sha Ruijin to promote? It should have been completed long ago. Many of the candidates on the list are cadres nearing retirement, and they would have been directly promoted one level to get better retirement benefits.

Moreover, these were all people from other Standing Committee members, not Zhao Lichun's. Zhao Ruilong doesn't work in politics, so he just did a favor by giving them to other Standing Committee members.

In addition, he was helping some people get promoted as the governor was nearing retirement. Later, the provincial government kept making things difficult for Sha Ruijin. A big reason why Sha Ruijin couldn't control the situation was that he directly offended Wu Chunlin of the Organization Department, as well as a group of standing committee members.

That's why Zhao Lichun is considered kind. He didn't kill Yi Xuexi or transfer him to guard the reservoir. Chen Yanshi just didn't receive the deputy ministerial-level treatment before retirement, and that's based on age.

If they were truly innocent, why would they keep saying they changed their age in tabloids to join the army?

"What's the problem? They're not my people, and this kind of list should pass, right?" Zhao Lichun said dismissively. How could this kind of list not pass? Besides, it's a list that helps the new secretary control Handong and directly wins over the major standing committee members.

He left quite a few positions open to new secretaries, not the kind that lead to direct promotion.

Gao Yuliang couldn't help but smile inwardly. This Sha Ruijin came to investigate, and after more than a month of investigation, he rejected the list at the Standing Committee meeting. At the first Standing Committee meeting, everyone would give face to the top leader and would not object, but the other party just shelved it like that.

Then came the investigation. After several months of investigation, Yi Xuexi was promoted three levels in a row, and Hou Liangping was parachuted in. All the work piled up.

Who wouldn't have their own thoughts? Gao Yuliang is clean now, and he doesn't even need to do anything to directly kill Sha Ruijin.

"The main thing is that there will be quite a few vacancies by then, and these positions can be directly handed over to the next secretary for arrangement."