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

As Sha Ruijin listened to the Standing Committee meeting, he felt like he had been pulled into a small group. Among the Standing Committee members, he was supposed to be the one in charge, but now he had become the one making the final decisions.

He must carefully maintain his authority at the first Standing Committee meeting he convenes on his own initiative.

Sha Ruijin smiled and then said, "I want to say, you guys coordinated really well! You just gave me a big problem, and then you came up with a solution."

"I can't help but ask, did the arrow come first and then the target, or did the target come first and then the archery skills? Do you even have me, the provincial party secretary, in your eyes? You didn't even notify me when you found out about this, but instead sent a bunch of people to take pictures and verify it."

"Instead, I, the top leader, only found out at a provincial party committee standing committee meeting. Is it really that inconvenient to just make a phone call to inform me? Are you trying to sideline me?"

After hearing Sha Ruijin's words, many people lowered their heads. If the top leader came, and they, the people of Handong, joined forces to sideline him, it would sound terrible no matter where they went!

Governor Liu looked at Gao Yuliang with an air of composure. Gao Yuliang adjusted his glasses, then took a sip of tea unhurriedly and said, "Comrade Ruijin, although you are the top leader of our provincial party committee, I must refute you at this moment. What you said is incorrect."

"We are informing you now for practical reasons and for your consideration. First of all, Jingzhou and Luzhou are more than 400 kilometers apart. Luzhou does not have an airport, so you simply cannot get here in time. Moreover, in such urgent situations, we must act expediently. Our first priority is to dismantle the bomb in this gasoline depot."

"Instead of waiting for you to come back and guide the work, in my opinion, Comrade Ma Guangming's ability to come up with a complete solution in such a short time is not proof of our prior collusion and communication, but rather a demonstration of Ma Guangming's strong ability. Of course, he also has the desire to make amends for his mistakes."

"Besides, we actually knew about this not much earlier than you, maybe just two hours earlier. In addition, it's for your own good, to prevent Comrade Ruijin from making the wrong judgment due to personal feelings."

"However, since Comrade Ruijin has made such a strong request, we can naturally hand it over to Comrade Ruijin for command."

Looking at the scholarly Gao Yuliang, Sha Ruijin felt that Gao Yuliang was so hateful, even more hateful than Li Dakang. Li Dakang had brought him so many troubles, including Ding Yizhen and the current Dafeng Factory incident.

But Gao Yuliang was the most infuriating one. That night he refused to make a decision and left it to him to decide on his own. As a result, he didn't dare to do anything. What did he do all day?

He even said he was worried that his personal feelings would cloud his judgment. Is he the kind of person who would let personal feelings cloud his judgment? Impossible, absolutely impossible.

"I, Sha Ruijin, would never let any personal feelings interfere with my judgment and decision-making. Besides, what personal feelings do I have with Dafeng Factory?"

"If it weren't for today's Standing Committee meeting, I wouldn't even know the name 'Dafeng Factory' or about the gasoline hoarding. What personal relationship could there be? Comrade Yuliang, don't talk nonsense."

"Even if there were personal reasons involved, I will handle the matter impartially. As the provincial party secretary, I have to take the lead in dealing with it strictly and severely, right?"

Now, Gao Yuliang and Sha Ruijin never address each other as "Secretary" or anything like that. They call each other "comrade" and treat each other as equals. They are inseparable in terms of their positions, but they can be separated in other aspects.

Tian Guofu quickly chimed in, "Since Secretary Sha took office in Handong, I have accompanied him on his inspection tour of Handong. I can assure you with my own hands that Secretary Sha has never met anyone from Dafeng Factory, nor did he know about Dafeng Factory's gasoline hoarding."

"Secretary Yuliang, you can't slander others. Even as the Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, you can't just slander people at will. This will require accountability."

Everyone's eyes turned to Gao Yuliang, wanting to know what Gao Yuliang meant when he said that Sha Ruijin had an affair with Dafeng Factory.

Ma Guangming was somewhat puzzled. He looked at Gao Yuliang, then at Liu Changsheng, wanting to know what was going on. He was prepared to be criticized by Sha Ruijin, since safety was his responsibility. How could it be that Gao Yuliang was going against Sha Ruijin?

Ma Guangming arrived and asked softly, "Governor, what's going on?"

Liu Changsheng replied with four words: "Just watch the show."

Suddenly, he realized that he didn't really want to go out for inspections or retire. After all, if he retired, where would he go to watch the show?

This place looks so lively! He felt like he had become much younger.

Everyone was looking forward to Gao Yuliang speaking, and he did not disappoint.

"I didn't want to say this, but since Secretary Sha asked, I'll tell you anyway! The reason why Dafeng Factory here has these trenches, and even armed resistance methods like Molotov cocktails, is all related to one person: Chen Yanshi."

"These methods were all taught by Chen Yanshi. Whether it was the workers we bribed or the way the trenches were arranged, Chen Yanshi was my old leader. I just reported this matter to the provincial government. I didn't participate in the handling of it."

"At the same time, I received information that Chen Yanshi is not only an old revolutionary, but also the adoptive father of our Comrade Ruijin. Comrade Ruijin is facing this situation, and he is torn between his own flesh and blood and Chen Yanshi. It is a difficult question whether to deal with him or not."

Wait, how come there's this about Sha Ruijin's adoptive father? I didn't expect there to be this connection! Sha Ruijin just said he would handle this impartially and punish him severely. Can Sha Ruijin really do something as righteous as turning his own family away?

How did Gao Yuliang even know about this? They didn't know! At the same time, he was also curious about how to deal with Chen Yanshi.

"However, since Comrade Ruijin enforces the law without favoritism, following the example of Ziwen, the prime minister of the State of Chu during the Spring and Autumn Period, I also think it's acceptable. I agree that Comrade Ruijin should handle the Dafeng Factory matter."

During the Spring and Autumn Period, Ziwen, the prime minister (Lingyin) of the State of Chu, had a clansman who broke the law. The judicial officer in charge of justice, fearing Ziwen's power, released the man. Ziwen was furious when he learned of this, rebuked the judicial officer, and forced him to severely punish his clansman according to the law. The people thus greatly respected him.

Gao Yuliang then recounted a story that others had been pondering for a long time.

"However, I think it's because the provincial government handled it better, since they are responsible for security and stability."

Everyone stared at Gao Yuliang in astonishment. You had just pushed them to that point; whether to deal with it or not was a difficult question!

It wouldn't sound good to betray one's own family for the greater good, especially since that was his adoptive father. What would others think of Sha Ruijin? In this dilemma, Gao Yuliang actually pushed the responsibility onto the provincial government.

No, this kind of thing is usually handled within the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, but the final trial is still conducted by the procuratorate. It all depends on Lao Ji.