Names: Uncle Zhao Mengsheng, Father-in-law Pei Yihong

Despair overwhelmed Cai Chenggong in an instant.

He had experienced glory, wealth, and destitution in his life, but he never imagined that he would end up dead in the wilderness.

Give up struggling, close your eyes, and quietly wait for the final moment to arrive.

Feeling humiliated and frustrated.

One second, ten seconds, half a minute.

The expected pain and suffocation did not come.

The surroundings were quiet, with only the rustling of leaves in the forest breeze.

Cai Chenggong was filled with doubt and suspicion.

He tentatively twisted and turned inside the sack, rolling around haphazardly a few times.

Unexpectedly, the thick rope that was originally tied tightly came undone after being rubbed and loosened several times.

He crawled out of the sack, and the blinding sunlight poured down.

The moment he saw the light of day again, Cai Chenggong gasped for breath.

A feeling of relief at surviving the ordeal welled up inside me instantly.

He immediately ripped the rag out of his mouth and greedily inhaled the fresh air.

Turning my head, I saw my bag beside me.

Could it be that they were scared because they mentioned Hou Liangping, their childhood friend from the Anti-Corruption Bureau?

We must go to Beijing to find the monkey.

Cai Chenggong didn't have time to think much and quickly opened his backpack; his phone was inside.

He is now burdened with huge debts and restricted from high-end consumption by the court, and cannot take airplanes or high-speed trains.

The only way to escape is by taking a private car.

The fingertips flew across the dialing number for the driver.

"Come pick me up quickly, don't delay a moment!" I'm at Guangming Lake.

"Okay, Mr. Cai," came the reply from the other end of the phone.

Cai Chenggong dared not linger and cautiously observed his surroundings.

After confirming that no one was lying in wait or following them, they quickly rushed to the roadside to wait.

Twenty minutes later, a black private car sped up.

After the two got into the car, the driver stepped on the gas, and the car sped away, heading straight for the highway.

This place is not safe to stay for long; we must go to Beijing and make a big scene.

the other side.

The compound of the Jingzhou Municipal Party Committee.

Standing Committee Meeting Room.

All members of the Municipal Party Committee Standing Committee were present at the long conference table, with no one absent.

Li Dakang sat upright in the main seat, his face ashen.

Mayor Wu Xiongfei, Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission Zhang Shuli, Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission Wang Jingxuan, Standing Committee Member and Vice Mayor Han Baoqiang, Minister of Publicity Guan Quanjie, Secretary-General of the Municipal Party Committee Liu Changjiang, Minister of the United Front Work Department Zhang Peng, and Political Commissar of the Military Sub-district Xiang Hongjun were all in place.

Each person had a different expression.

Some were tense and serious, some were secretly watching the show, and some were poised to act.

Li Dakang's gaze swept over everyone, and without any further preamble, he went straight to the point.

"Comrades, we are holding an emergency meeting of the Municipal Party Committee Standing Committee today. There is only one topic: the case of Ding Yizhen's escape."

Today at the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee meeting, because Ding Yizhen inexplicably fled, I was publicly criticized by the Provincial Party Committee leaders, losing face completely and putting me in an extremely passive position!

I felt extremely frustrated and had to suffer in silence the whole time.

Upon arriving at the Jingzhou Municipal Party Committee, he became the absolute top leader, with no room for argument.

As soon as he finished speaking, the conference room fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone knows that today's meeting is destined to be a chaotic battle of shirking responsibility and passing the buck.

After a moment of silence, Mayor Wu Xiongfei was the first to speak up, "Secretary Dakang, to be fair, who in the entire Jingzhou doesn't know that Ding Yizhen is your number one favorite?"

He raised an eyebrow slightly and continued to escalate the situation, each sentence barbed.

"Ding Yizhen would tell everyone he met that he was the reincarnation of Secretary Dakang, and that he had the final say on all the major and minor projects and urban construction projects in Jingzhou."

Now that he has vanished into thin air and caused such a huge mess, I think Secretary Dakang, you bear the greatest responsibility!

It's obvious they want to pin all the blame on Li Dakang.

Li Dakang's eyes turned cold, and he instantly retorted, "Comrade Wu Xiongfei, you must speak with decorum and respect for hierarchy!"

You can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want.

I am the Party Secretary of the Municipal Committee, and it is true that I have overall authority. However, you are the Mayor of Jingzhou City, and Ding Yizhen is the Vice Mayor in charge of urban construction. He is your direct subordinate!

"A major defection occurred from one of your direct subordinates. As the mayor, don't you bear even the slightest responsibility for oversight?"

He deftly shifted the blame, delivered a precise counterattack, and held his own in the slightest.

Upon seeing this, Liu Changjiang, the secretary-general of the municipal party committee, immediately took sides and echoed, "Secretary Dakang's words are all reasonable. The division of responsibilities at each level is clear, and it is obvious who should bear the responsibility."

A surefire rule for workplace survival: closely follow the lead of the top leader.

Otherwise, Li Dakang might just decide to get rid of him, the chief steward of the municipal party committee.

Wu Xiongfei rolled his eyes at Liu Changjiang. "Secretary-General Liu, your flattery skills are getting more and more masterful!"

Organization Minister Wang Jingxuan immediately stepped in to smooth things over and strongly supported Liu Changjiang.

"Mayor Wu, let's not gossip about flattery during the Standing Committee meeting."

Secretary-General Liu was simply stating the facts, and what he said made perfect sense; there was no need for sarcasm or irony.

The situation instantly turned into a confrontation.

Li Dakang's gaze shifted and landed on Zhang Shuli, the secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission.

He was quite dissatisfied.

"Secretary Zhang, the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection is in charge of Party conduct and integrity, and cadre supervision. Didn't your Commission notice Ding Yizhen's corruption, depravity, and violations of rules and regulations?"

The plan is to put pressure on the discipline inspection department.

If it were someone else, they might have already bowed their head, admitted their mistake, and taken the blame.

But Zhang Shuli didn't buy it at all and immediately retorted.

"Secretary Dakang, you can't say that!"

When Ding Yizhen's son got married, he illegally accepted a large dowry. Our municipal discipline inspection commission was the first to notice the suspicious circumstances and immediately registered and filed the case and launched an investigation!

Throughout the entire process, our disciplinary committee took the initiative to be vigilant and collect evidence, never slacking off in the slightest!

They were confident and had solid reasoning; they refused to take the blame.

Li Dakang said, half-laughing and half-crying, "Oh? According to you, should the municipal party committee give you a special certificate to commend your discipline inspection commission for your achievements?"

Zhang Shuli remained composed and responded calmly: "I don't need the certificate. I just ask that the leaders be realistic, not to arbitrarily assign blame, and not to pass the buck."

We will stand firm to the end and never compromise.

The atmosphere in the meeting room was tense, with neither side willing to back down.

Zhang Peng, the head of the United Front Work Department of the Municipal Party Committee, stood to the side, drinking tea with his head down the whole time.

Watching the drama unfold is the safest way to survive.

Xiang Hongjun, the political commissar of the Jingzhou Military Sub-district, sat upright with a calm expression.

Military standing committee members generally do not get involved in internal power struggles; it's a rule ingrained in their very being.

The two remained apathetic observers throughout, watching the crowd exchange barbs and attacks, their minds perfectly clear.

Today's meeting is, frankly speaking, a blame-shifting session where nobody wants to take responsibility for Ding Yizhen's mess.

Everyone is looking out for themselves, each harboring their own secrets.

The undercurrents within the entire Standing Committee of Jingzhou were laid bare at this moment.

Wu Xiongfei decided to go all out and fight to the bitter end.

He sneered, his tone sharp and cutting.

"Secretary Dakang, don't put it so grandly!"

"Who doesn't know that Ding Yizhen is a close confidant whom you promoted and indulged?"

He controls all the lucrative projects in Jingzhou, including urban construction, land, and investment. He only cares about you and never respects the municipal government!

Secretary Dakang, you monopolize power and shift all the risks onto others—there's no such thing as a free lunch!

These words were tantamount to flipping the table in public, directly exposing the unspoken rule of the imbalance of power and responsibility in Jingzhou.

The conference room was deathly silent; you could hear a pin drop.

Li Dakang had been in charge of Jingzhou for many years, and he was the only one who reprimanded people. No one dared to contradict or openly challenge him in public.

Li Dakang was not angry at all; instead, he sneered and directly crushed Li Dakang.

"Good! Well said!"

So you're saying that the problem of overbearing subordinates and ineffective supervision lies with the superiors?

According to your logic, if your subordinates disregard rules, desert their posts, and defect abroad, you, as the mayor, bear no responsibility whatsoever.

Wu Xiongfei perked up, "Secretary Dakang, haha, what responsibility do I have?"

Li Dakang refused to admit defeat and pressed on aggressively, "Mayor Wu, you know better than anyone the division of powers and responsibilities within the system. Don't pretend to be ignorant here!"

I ask you, has the municipal government conducted daily attendance checks, integrity talks, and performance inspections for its officials?

Have you checked the flow of funds for major projects and the reporting of project acceptance?

Ding Yizhen has been engaging in irregular practices and accumulating wealth for a long time; your municipal government's oversight mechanism is practically non-existent!

Every sentence hits the nail on the head, accurately refuting Wu Xiongfei's defense.

Wu Xiongfei's face instantly turned bright red, his blood rushing to his head, but he still gritted his teeth and endured it.

"That's because he acts recklessly because of your name, Secretary Li Dakang! We simply can't control him!"

Li Dakang's eyes flashed sharply, directly blocking his escape route. "Mayor Wu, if you can't control him, it's a problem with your ability, your performance of duties, and the construction of your team!"

As mayor, when officials under his jurisdiction are out of control and the anti-corruption defenses have collapsed, instead of looking for the root cause within himself, he only makes excuses and shirks responsibility!

If every official can use having connections in higher-ups as a shield when they make a mistake, then what's the point of maintaining the rules of Jingzhou?

Should we still follow the rules?

A series of rhetorical questions, each building upon the last, each word piercing the heart.

Night falls.

Qi Tongwei received a call from Zhang Shuli, "Governor Qi, the Standing Committee of the Jingzhou Municipal Party Committee is a bit of a liability..."

After listening to Zhang Shuli's report, Qi Tongwei smiled and said, "Secretary Zhang, thank you for your hard work. It was expected."